


Meet Uncle John

by kirallie



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Supernatural
Genre: Gen, M/M, Mentions of previous Slash, Temporary Character Death, off screen character deaths
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-31
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2017-11-27 15:14:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 51,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/663463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirallie/pseuds/kirallie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Due to an assignment Hary learns he has more family alive than he thinks. How will they react to suddenly being asked to care for him? And how exactly are they meant to keep their job a secret, after all this is Harry we're talking about.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set post book 4 for HP and during s1 for SPN.

Harry sat on his bed, staring down at the parchment he'd spread across the floor. Thanks to the stupid Tri-Wizard tournament he'd almost missed his chance at the assignment but Hermione had quickly jumped in to help, knowing how much it would mean to him. Due to a combined assignment for Potions and Charms he was staring at his family tree going back all the way to the beginning. He hadn't had the chance to look at it before leaving Hogwarts; he'd just accepted it from Professor Flitwick and then bolted to make the last carriage back to the station.

The potion had been complicated for fourth years and not only Neville had blown his cauldron up but Snape had some of the potion stored so that even if they failed one half they might pass the other. Once they'd brewed it or been given some by Snape they then had to add seven drops of blood and leave it to sit for a week. Then they had taken it to Charms. Each student was given a large piece of parchment that would resize as necessary. The spell was not easy but it was easier than a potion that took three weeks to make. The wand movements hadn't been all that difficult, it was the Latin that made it hard. But Flitwick was always there to lend a hand. Once they'd gotten the spell down they poured the potion onto the parchment and cast the spell. When done correctly it would cause their family tree to slowly spread across the parchment. Done incorrectly and you joined Neville in the infirmary having burn salve liberally applied and most of your hair regrown.

Harry had still been in the infirmary himself after the events of the maze and Voldemort's return when they had cast the spell so Hermione had convinced Professor Flitwick to allow her to do his as well. Since his blood was already in the potion anyone could do the spell and it would still work. He was just glad he had passed the potion portion so that she had the option to work with and he at least got half marks for the assignment.

Hermione had never looked at the parchment after she had checked to make sure the spell was working, she had seen his parents names appear and then had rolled it up and handed it in. So he was going to be the first to see the completed history of the Potter and Evan's families. He had decided to start at the beginning and slowly work his way up to his parents. After all he knew what was at the end, it was the beginning and all that was in between that had him curious.

\-----------------------------

Between chores, although those had been cut down a bit for some reason, and summer homework it had taken nearly a week but he was now up to his great-grandparents and their assorted siblings. Finding out his Mum was not the first magical person in her family had been interesting, so much for her being a muggle-born. Her great-great-great-grandfather had been a wizard though he had attended Durmstrang and his name had been Evanston, obviously the family name had been shortened since then.

The chart was a lot easier to read than some of the muggle family trees he'd seen in the past and it was even colour coded. A black line under the person's name meant they were dead and a red meant alive. Muggles had their names in orange, squibs were green and wizards/witches were in royal purple.

Harry had been surprised by some of the people he was related to. Finding out he was Draco's seventh cousin was not amusing, nor was his very distant relationship to Lestrange. Finding out Sirius was his sixth cousin was brilliant though. It was really scary and kind of gross just how interbred the Pureblood families were.

Harry traced his parent's names sadly, following the line down from them and to his own before going sideways. He found Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, Dudley and even Aunt Marge, her name attached to Vernon's, easily. Though it surprised him to see Petunia's name was green and not the expected orange like his uncle and cousin. Put what had him freezing in utter shock was the extra line linked to both Lily and Petunia through their mother but not their father. His mother had an older half-brother and his name was not underlined in black but red. Harry dropped to his knees and pulled the parchment closer. So Grandmother Rose had briefly either been married to or had at least been seeing a man named Jason Winchester and that relationship had resulted in a son, John. His name was in orange as was his partners although Mary's was underlined in black. John and Mary led down to two names, Dean and Samuel. Samuel was linked to a Jessica Moore who was dead but had been a squib and beneath them was simply the name Winchester with no birth date, only a death one. Jessica had been pregnant when she died.

Harry was frozen, how could no one have told him? He had an uncle and two cousins and he had never heard a word about them. Sure his cousin's were considerable older than him but the thought of family... Harry frowned as he studied their names. Dean was about eleven years older than him and was a squib but it was Samuel that really held his attention. The younger Winchester was just over eight years his senior and his name was...in blue? Harry scoured his books but there was no explanation given for that colour.

Now what should he do? Try and find a way to contact them? But what if they knew and simply hadn't wanted anything to do with him? Then again it was entirely possible they had no clue he existed. No one had ever mentioned his Mum having a brother, even a half-brother, so did that mean his Uncle John had been raised by his father away from the Evans side? There was only one way to find out.

\-------------------------------

"Aunt Petunia?" Harry watched her closely but she seemed to be in a good enough mood.

"What is it boy?" She sneered but he would not let that get to him.

"I was wondering if you could tell me anything about Uncle John?" He flinched as she dropped the plate she had been holding and it smashed into a million pieces at their feet.

"Where did you hear that name?" To his surprise she wasn't yelling at him but she had gone rather pale. Worried she was going to pass out he pulled out a chair and gently pushed her into it.

"I didn't hear it...there was a school project on family trees and he showed up on it along with his two sons." Harry kept the mentioning of school to a minimum.

"I haven't thought about John in a long time." Petunia whispered sadly but then she looked up at him. He fought the urge to fidget as she seemed to weigh him with her gaze. Petunia suddenly stood and headed for the stairs. "Follow me." Harry instantly rushed to do so. This was turning into one of the weirdest days of his life.

Harry wasn't too surprised when they ended up in the attic since it was where Petunia had stored his grandparent's things before Harry had even begun to live there. He usually wasn't allowed up there either. Petunia looked through the boxes before finally pulling one out and setting it down between them. On the top, written in a child's hand was the name John.

"Our mother Rose was seventeen when she met an American by the name of Jason Winchester. He was in London on business and she was spending the summer with a cousin. They hadn't known each other long when she fell pregnant. Jason didn't know and returned to America. She married Matthew Evans, her fiancé, quickly enough that she was able to pass John off as an early child. Seven years later I was born. When I was three things became...rocky. As he grew older it became more and more obvious that John was not Matthew's son. They fought a lot and eventually a man came and took John away, I learned later it was his father. Eight months later Lily was born and our parents never spoke of John again but I remembered him. He was my protector and I followed him everywhere. I hated them for sending him away, as much as a three year old can hate or even understand what was happening at the time. You say he has children?" This was not the Aunt Petunia he knew but it was obvious she had loved her older brother.

"Two sons, Dean and Samuel. Dean's the eldest and is twenty-six, Samuel is twenty-two." Harry told her, carefully unrolling the family tree and pointing them out. He hesitantly explained what the various colours meant and was surprised how accepting she was that Harry wasn't the only 'freak' on her side of the tree.

"He was even younger than you when his mother died." Petunia commented sadly as she noted Mary's death date and Samuel's birth. "Are you going to try and find them?" She locked eyes with him and in that instant she really seemed to be his mother's sister.

"I'm not sure. I was thinking I should at least let them know I exist but I wasn't sure what the story was between them and the rest of the family."

"So you could find him?" Petunia pressed and Harry nodded.

"If I give Hedwig a letter addressed to them she can find them anywhere as long as they aren't hidden our way." Harry explained and Petunia nodded.

"Look around, these things belong to your family as well. There are some of Lily's old belongings here too; you may take what you like. I will add a letter to what you send." With that she was gone, leaving a speechless Harry behind.

\--------------------------------

"Dude, what the hell?" Dean's exclamation had Sam staring at the Impala too. He blinked as he saw the snow white owl perched imperiously on the hood seeming to glare at them. Dean had halfway drawn his gun but Sam restrained him.

"You can't just go around shooting owls Dean, scare it off." Sam chastised him.

"It's sitting on my baby."

"It's an owl Dean, seriously you can't shoot it." Sam rolled his eyes and started walking again.

"What's an owl doing out here and at this time of day anyway?" Dean grumbled and Sam quirked a smile at his brother. He went to wave an arm at the owl to scare it off only to frown as it extended a leg towards him. "Sammy?" Dean called in confusion as Sam continued to stare at the avian. Sam took a cautious step closer and then saw the envelope tied to the owl's leg.

"Dad doesn't use messenger birds, right?" Sam questioned Dean, who knew with their Dad after all.

"What?" Dean came around the car and joined him in staring. Seeing they weren't doing anything the owl gave an irritated hoot and shook itself before extending its leg again. "Think it's possessed?"

"Wouldn't it be pecking us or something?" Sam asked back and then shrugged, better safe than sorry. "Christo." They waited but the owl just tilted its head, seemingly confused. "Is that for us?" Sam asked, ignoring Dean's incredulous look. They blinked as the owl bobbed its head. "Can I take it?" Sam moved hesitantly closer and the owl hopped towards him awkwardly, leg still out.

Sam carefully untied the envelope and the owl lowered its leg before beginning to preen its feathers. He turned the envelope over and stared in shock.

"Sam?" Dean accepted the sachet Sam wordlessly handed over. On the front in handwriting that looked like it belonged to a teenager was two lines

John Winchester

Dean Winchester, Samuel Winchester

"Looks like not even birds can find Dad if his name's first but it came to us." Dean commented as he turned the packet over in his hands.

"Should we open it?" Sam asked and the bird bobbed its head again before taking off from the car only to land on Sam's shoulder and began preening his hair to Dean's great amusement.

"I keep telling you to cut your hair Sammy."

"Jerk, just open it." Sam grumbled but hesitantly reached up to pet the bird. Dean slit the envelope open with a knife and pulled out what looked like a sheet of parchment and then a piece of stationary.

"Sam call Dad and tell him Aunt Petunia says hi." Sam's hand dropped from the owl, much to its annoyance, in shock.

"What?" In answer Dean handed him the papers.

Dear John,

I know it has been years since we have seen each other dear brother. I am well and I hope you are to. I am married now to a wonderful man named Vernon and we have a son, Dudley. I do not know if you know but our mother passed away sixteen years ago so if you didn't I am sorry to be the one to tell you. I know she never wanted you to leave us but father insisted and she did love him. She loved your father as well, I remember her crying many nights after you both left.  
I am entrusting this letter to our mutual nephew. You never knew Lily; she was born just eight months after you were taken away by your father. Her only child, Harry, has been in the care of my husband and I since she died alongside her husband thirteen years ago. Harry found out about you and your children through a school project and began asking questions. I told him about you and he would like to get to know you. Vernon and I are meant to be in France this summer and cannot take him with us; it is my hope that he can spend the time with you. I have never forgotten you and still miss you. I hope this finds you well. Please write back.

Your sister,  
Petunia Dursley

"Could this be..."

"Real?" Dean finished and Sam nodded. "No clue. Not like Dad ever talks about his family." Dean said and Sam pulled out his phone, unsurprised when their Dad's went to voicemail.

"Hey Dad it's Sam. Aunt Petunia says hi, so does cousin Harry." Sam hung up after that and Dean chuckled.

"He is so going to yell at that message."

"What does Harry's note say?" Sam asked as he put his phone away.

"Basically the same thing, except some info on him. Kid's only fourteen, well nearly fifteen. Orphaned as a baby. Goes to a boarding school in...Scotland? How far did that owl fly?" They both looked to said owl who fluffed up proudly. "Her name's Hedwig by the way."

"You're one smart owl Hedwig." Sam told her, going back to petting her. Sam nearly jumped when his phone rang in his pocket. He checked the caller id and then held it out to Dean.

"You left the message Sammy." Dean said backing away and Sam sighed before answering.

"Hey Dad." Sam winced and held the phone a bit further from his ear. Hedwig squawked and flew over to rest on Dean's shoulder instead. "No, we got two letters. One from her and one from your mutual nephew Harry. She's hoping you can take the kid for the summer, he's not quite fifteen." Sam listened and Dean leaned a little closer to try and hear what their Dad was saying. "Actually an owl delivered it, apparently she's Harry's pet. They'd at least like you to write back." Sam rolled his eyes at something John said but then nodded. "See you there." Sam hung up. "We're meeting Dad in Denver, he wants to see the letters himself."

"Great. What about Hedwig here?" Dean moved the shoulder she was perched on and got nipped for it.

"Um...can you follow us?" Sam asked the owl and she did her head bob thing. "Then let's go."

\---------------------------------

John watched as the Impala pulled into the parking lot and his boys got out. He blinked as a white owl swooped down to perch on Sam's shoulder but his youngest merely reached up to pet it. He'd spent the two days it had taken for them to arrive thinking about things he hadn't thought of in years. Petunia...he'd honestly never thought he'd hear from his little sister. And for them to have a mutual nephew, it meant he had another younger sibling. The fact that he's never been told angered him but then again he had been mad about the whole mess.

He'd loved Matthew, believed he was his Father but when the man had finally found out the truth John had been tossed aside. He supposed he was lucky his Mother had had a way of contacting his Dad or who knows what would have happened to him. It had taken time to grow close to his Dad but it had happened and the only regret he had really clung to was his separation from his beloved Petunia. She had been a wonderful baby, not the prettiest sure, but she had been inquisitive and happy. She had also stuck to him like glue as soon as he got in the door from school. Seeing her tears the day he had left had broken his heart. Maybe that was why he had been so insistent Dean always watch out for Sammy and why he had argued against Sam leaving for school. He knew what it did to an older brother to be separated from their younger sibling and hadn't wanted Dean to go through that pain, plus it just hadn't been safe.

"Hey Dad." Dean called as they joined him.

"Boys. Who's your friend Sam?" John stared at the owl which stared straight back at him unblinkingly.

"Her name's Hedwig, she's Harry's. Should have seen Dean's face when he saw her sitting on the Impala." Sam snickered and Dean elbowed him.

"She could have scratched the paint!" John shook his head as he ushered them inside. They both took the Holy Water without comment and Dean even held it up to Hedwig who drank thirstily. "Well she has been flying after us, that has to be thirsty work."

"Just admit you think she's neat. How many owls do you know that can fly all the way from England to Washington?" Sam smiled and helped Hedwig onto the curtain rail so she could perch. She ducked her head under a wing and was sound asleep.

"Got the letters?" John asked, enjoying watching the boys bicker without any heat behind it unlike the months before Sammy had left them. Sam handed them over and John sat down to read.

John stared into space once he'd finished. His baby sister, Lily, was dead and he'd never had the chance to know her. Had she ever known about him? And her poor son, being completely orphaned so young. At least Petunia had taken him in, though there was something...off in the way they talked of each other in their letters. It wasn't overt but he got the feeling they weren't close. But there was no way he could agree to their request. He could not drag a kid around the country with him and how would he explain what he did anyway?

"So are you going to write back?" Sam asked and John nodded, it was the least he could do.

"You two can write as well if you want. We can even give them a post box address if you want to get to know them better." John said, wanting the chance to get to know his sister again even if he wouldn't admit it.

"You're going to say no." Sam stated flatly and even Dean seemed to sag ever so slightly.

"Of course I am! What else could I say Sammy? Sure, I'd love to drag our nephew around the country for the next few months. Hopefully he'll still be in one piece when I send him back? Think Sam! You hated it and you want to drag another kid in?" John tried not to yell, he really didn't want to fight with Sam after so long of not seeing him.

"It's only for what, two and a half, three months. We could take a break for that long couldn't we? Or one stay with him while the others go if an emergency pops up? Rent an apartment for the time. He's family Dad. Don't you want to at least see him once?" Sam answered. Dean looked between them, he could see both sides and honestly didn't know who to side with. Yes he wanted to meet the kid, he was a Winchester, almost and family was everything. But how much danger would that put the kid in?

"Dean? What do you think?" John asked and Dean froze.

"I...I don't know. You're both right. He's family but we'd put him in danger. But what if the demon finds out because he wrote to us and goes after him or Aunt Petunia? I don't know."

TBC...


	2. 2

Harry rushed downstairs to show his Aunt the letters. Uncle Vernon had already left to work for the day and Dudley was with his gang so it was safe. The weird truce he had with Aunt Petunia felt...odd but also nice. Though she acted the same as always when the male members of the family were around when it was just the two of them she was...warmer though only a little.

Harry was half dreading opening the letters addressed to him, what if they didn't want anything to do with him? Then again they could be begging him to come stay for the summer so he really had no choice but to open them. Harry wisely said nothing about the slight tremble in Petunia's hands when she took the fat envelope from him, instead leaving her alone to read while he returned to his room to read his.

Dear Harry,

It was a surprise to hear from you since Dad has never said much about his family. We didn't even know he'd lived in England! Since Dean is staring over my shoulder while I write this letter is from both of us. We are glad you decided to contact us though maybe you should use regular post, Dean nearly shot Hedwig for sitting on his beloved car though he seems to have warmed up to her now. How did you train her to deliver mail let alone track us down?

I guess you'd like to hear some things about us. I'll go first. Everyone calls me Sam and I am twenty-two. I attended Stanford University until earlier this year when there was a fire. My girlfriend, Jess, didn't make it. Dean and I have been on a road trip ever since and I haven't decided whether I will go back or not. Do you enjoy school? I always have but Dean is the opposite. I'll give this to Dean now.

Hey kid, I'm your cousin Dean. I am twenty-six years old and the cooler of your two wonderful cousins. And don't listen to him, his name is Sammy. Ignore his talk about school, he's a major geek. School's just something you have to put up with till you graduate. And no matter what he said I did not warm up to that feather duster! I just put up with her since she's your pet. And why an owl anyway? So, do you have a girlfriend yet? Sammy's the talker 'round here so I'll let him get back to it. He's the giant in the picture.

Back again. I managed to find a picture of the three of us, somehow, that isn't too old. Dad is obviously the older guy and yes I am taller than Dean though I am not a giant. Could you send a picture? It'd be good for Dad to know who he'll be looking for. See ya soon little cousin.

Your Cousin's,  
Sam and Dean

Harry tore through the envelope until he pulled out the photo of three men. He studied it closely; easily able to tell who was who from the letter's comments. From the car they were leaning against it was pretty obvious they were all way taller than him. So he must have gotten the short genes in the family. Maybe it was the Winchester side that was tall? Sam looked...softer than the two older men, like he was more open with emotion. Uncle John looked rather gruff and scruffy but the way he stood close to his sons screamed of protectiveness. Dean did too with the way he was angled towards Sam. It was so obvious he was the youngest; he'd seen the same behaviour in the Weasley family towards Ginny and even Ron.

It was the last line of their letter that had his pulse racing...see ya soon. That had to mean what he thought it did, right? He pulled out the remaining sheets of paper to find another letter, obviously from his uncle since the handwriting was different and another, older photo of a couple, toddler and baby. Obviously a shot taken before his Aunt's death. They were cute as kids.

Dear Harry,

I am sorry about your parents. I never knew of Lily's birth and am sorry I was never there for her or you. I hope Petunia has taken good care of you, she was a wonderful child and I miss her a lot. Thank you for tracking us down. I know Sam dug out a photo of the three of us for you so I have enclosed one of them as babies with your Aunt Mary. After talking it over we have agreed to take you for the summer. We are staying in Denver at the moment so if you get a flight to Denver International and send us the details one of us will be there to pick you up.

Your Uncle,  
John Winchester

Harry smiled as he finished the letter. He was going to America! He couldn't believe they had actually agreed and really wanted to meet him. There was so much to do! He'd need a passport and some new clothes at least. Plus a ticket. He'd have to go to Gringotts and work out how much money he had spare after taking the remainder of his schooling into account. Hopefully it would be enough.

"Harry!" He ran down the stairs at his Aunt's call and joined her in the living room. "I assume you were told that they have agreed to look after you for the rest of your vacation? Your Uncle has sent half the airfare and I will pay the rest. We'll go today to get your passport and book a flight for as soon as it is done." She told him and then frowned as she looked him over. "You'll need some new things obviously."

"I have my trust; I can probably get some money changed from it." Harry offered, surprised he wasn't going to have to buy his own ticket.

"We'll see. Get ready; we're going in to London."

\------------------------------

An old baseball cap of Dudley's easily hid his scar as Harry walked into Gringotts later that afternoon. While Aunt Petunia had become a bit more accepting of magic she had refused to accompany him into the Alley and they had arranged to meet up in two hours at a nearby coffee shop. Harry waited patiently in line until it was his turn.

"Hello, I'd like to talk to someone about my account please." The goblin sneered down at him as he spoke but Harry refused to flinch.

"Key."

"I don't have it, I was never given it." Harry explained and the goblin straightened.

"Name?"In answer he leaned closer and raised the hat to reveal the distinctive scar. "Follow me." Harry followed the goblin into a nearby office. "Mr. Potter was never given his account key." The older goblin paused at what he was doing and looked up at them. With a motion Harry's guide left and the door shut.

"You never received your key?"

"No sir, Hagrid had it first year, Mrs. Weasley the year after. Third year the ministry bought my supplies and Mrs. Weasley did it again last year. I wanted to know how much I have after school fees and supplies since I'm going to America as soon as I have a passport and will need to buy some things." Harry explained and the goblin's frown seemed to deepen if that were possible.

"Hmmm." Harry waited as the goblin dug around his desk. "Three drops of blood to prove identity and your keys will be reissued." Harry gave the required blood and then took the key that appeared. The goblin studied a stack of papers. "After school supplies and fees you have roughly three thousand galleons in your trust. The main family vault which you can't access until you are seventeen comes to three hundred thousand galleons, five hundred sickles and twenty knuts." Harry blinked at the amount. He had not expected that. "Everything here appears in order. How much would you like to withdraw?"

"Can you change it to English and American muggle currency?"

"Of course. Or for a two galleon fee we can give you the equivalent of a muggle debit card. The card can be used anywhere and has a daily withdrawal limit to keep you from overspending." The goblin offered and Harry grinned.

"That's brilliant."

"We can also supply you with a passport as you are a magical citizen. That will cost fifty galleons and will automatically update when needed."

"I'll take both, thanks."

Harry left the bank twenty minutes later with his new passport and debit card. His first stop was Flourish and Blotts for some extra reading material. He'd had a wonderfully enlightening conversation with the goblin while waiting for his passport. Under aged magic was not as closely monitored in the States. As long as he didn't use magic in front of a crowd of muggles he would be fine.

\----------------------------------

John paced around the escalators up from the underground train system that linked the concourses of Denver International Airport. Dean and Sam were waiting back at the motel where they now had two rooms. Harry would be staying with him since it was safest and the boys would stay together like they always did. Now if only his flight would hurry up and land.

As people began flooding up the escalators John unfolded the piece of cardboard Sam had given him and held it up. He didn't understand why he needed the sign, he had a picture of Harry after all and Harry had seen one of him. But Sam had been insistent and he hadn't wanted to be late. John scanned the crowd and then relaxed as he saw the short, dark haired teenager headed up the stairs.

"Harry!" John called and the teen looked around until he saw him. Harry waved shyly and ducked through the crowd until he was at John's side. Not knowing whether he should hug his nephew he stuck with holding out a hand. "It's good to meet you Harry. Did you have a nice flight?" John asked as he led the boy towards the luggage claim.

"It was okay I guess, bit long." Harry's answer was soft and John smothered a smile at his accent. How long had it been since he'd heard an English accent? He'd lost his years ago.

"You can get some sleep once we're at the motel. You'll be rooming with me while we're there. Have much luggage?" John asked awkwardly, half wishing it was Sam who was here. He hadn't known what to do with his own boys when they were teenagers outside of hunting and now he had another teenager under his care. One he couldn't make research for hours or clean the guns when he got annoying.

"Just one bag Uncle John."

John studied his nephew as they waited for his bag to arrive. He was short for a boy of nearly fifteen and didn't look much like him or his boys except for the green eyes. He had Rose's eyes just like Dean although Harry's were even more vibrant. The black messy hair was probably from his father's side. Harry was slender, almost too slender and that made him frown. It could be natural but something told him it wasn't. Had Harry been sick recently? Or was there a more worrying reason?

Watching Harry move through the crowds was interesting, the boy had a natural grace that allowed him to move easily around while John almost had to push his was through. His nephew was built for speed and grace, not power like Dean or even Sam who while slimmer than his brother still had power in his build. Harry would be the one who was always underestimated in a fight and then hit you before you knew it, if the boy even knew how to fight which John doubted.

Harry turned to him after grabbing his bag and John got his first really good look into his eyes. Grief and anger pooled in the green depths to such an extent that it shocked him. Something had definitely happened to him and recently and yet neither Harry nor Petunia had mentioned it in their letters. And he suddenly noticed the thing he had missed in the way Harry moved, there was a wariness there that he hadn't seen since Dean and Sam were his age, Harry was waiting to be attacked. Did he think John...? No, now that he was looking for it he could see Harry constantly scanning the crowds for possible threats. What the hell was going on? He'd have to talk to Sam; he was the best bet for getting the kid to open up.

\-----------------------------

"Dude they'll be here soon, stop pacing you're making be dizzy." Dean complained as Sam moved around their room, constantly checking the window for sight of their father's truck.

"His flight was meant to land two hours ago Dean."

"Dad probably took him to grab dinner. Poor kids been stuck with airline food remember? He would have called if something had happened." Dean told him, trying to calm Sam down though he was a bit worried himself, not that he'd let Sam know that.

"They're here!" Sam flung the door open and was through it before Dean was even standing, making Dean smile at Sam's excitement. It was a nice change from the grief and anger he'd had to deal with lately.

Dean joined Sam in standing at the door as their Dad finished parking and got out of the truck. He nodded to them and moved to the passenger door, opening it and taking bags of take out from the person sitting there. Dean strained to see but couldn't due to the growing darkness and distance. Then their cousin dropped out of the truck, John having to steady the kid for a second.

"Dean his bag's in back." John called and Dean immediately went to get it. John placed a guiding hand on Harry's back and led him into the second room, Sam and Dean following him. "That's your bed Harry, Dean and Sam are in the room next to us. Boy's this is your cousin Harry. Harry this is Dean and Sam." John introduced them and watched as his nephew returned his boys studying stare.

"Pleased to meet you." Harry spoke first and Sam smiled at him.

"It's great having you here." Sam told him, moving forward and pulling the startled teen into a quick hug. Only John saw Sam's sudden frown and it was gone when Sam pulled back from Harry.

"Good to meet ya kid." Dean grinned and held a hand out.

"Let's eat." John said as they all heard Harry's stomach growl, making the teen blush slightly.

\--------------------------------

"So what do you think of him?" John asked. Harry was asleep in the other room and John had joined the boys in theirs once sure the kid was deeply asleep.

"Seems a nice kid, a bit overly polite but he has just met us." Dean said, shrugging.

"Sam?" John asked and watched his youngest fidget.

"When I hugged him...he went stiff, like it was a shock. And he's way too thin under those close, I could feel his ribs." Sam admitted and Dean straightened eyes wide.

"Could he have been sick or something?" Dean asked and John sighed.

"I don't think so. I was watching him at the airport, he is as aware of his surroundings as we are. I saw him continually scanning the crowds for threats and he moved through them like he's used to having to run and dodge. And for one second his eyes...all I saw was grief and rage. Something happened to him and recently." Sam and Dean were silent, digesting what he'd told them.

"But what? It can't be family or Aunt Petunia would have mentioned it and he's away at some boarding school for most of the year. You think something happened at school?" Sam asked, mainly just thinking out loud.

"I don't know. Just watch him and don't startle him or anything."

TBC...


	3. 3

John lay still, not sure what had woken him. He carefully scanned the room not seeing anything out of place. The whimper coming from the other bed had him sitting up and blinking until the previous day's events rushed back. Harry was tangled in his sheets, obviously agitated and probably having a nightmare. John stood up and Harry screamed, beginning to really thrash about the bed. The adjoining door crashed open as Dean and Sam rushed in, weapons ready. John was already at Harry's side, trying to wake him.

Sam tossed his gun to Dean and joined his Dad on Harry's bed, pulling his cousin into his arms and gently running his fingers through the teen's hair. He felt his heart clench at the fear and grief Harry's screams held, was that what Dean had heard after Jessica's death?

"Harry its okay, you're safe." Sam soothed, the last thing they needed was management showing up to complain about the noise. Emerald eyes suddenly snapped open and Harry threw himself off the bed to curl up in the corner. "Harry? Are you okay?" Sam asked quietly, moving so that he was squatting on his heels in front of his cousin but not close enough that the boy would feel trapped. He smiled as he saw Harry finally wake up and look around.

"What?" Harry asked, obviously still half asleep.

"You had a nightmare Harry." Sam explained softly and Harry shook his head.

"Not a nightmare." Sam winced but moved closer, wrapping an arm around him to help him up.

"Come on; let's get you back to bed." Sam said as he helped him back to his bed. Harry saw John and Dean and winced.

"Sorry." He apologised softly and the older men smiled.

"No problem kiddo, you should hear the noise Sammy's made some nights." Dean grinned and Harry smiled shyly back. Dean and John fought back laughter as Sam tucked Harry back into bed, knowing the youngest Winchester would not let that go and not wanting to deal with him in a mood, or out for revenge.

"Sleep tight, no more nightmares." Sam whispered, brushing his fingers through Harry's unruly mop before moving away.

"Night squirt." Dean waved and then the brother's were gone and Harry was asleep. John went back to his own bed but kept an ear out for any more nightmares.

\------------------------------

"That was worse than some of yours." Dean commented as they put their weapons back and crawled into their beds.

"What worries me is he said it wasn't a nightmare." Sam told him and Dean frowned.

"What could he have seen to cause that?"

"I get the feeling we don't want to know." Sam answered, turning off the light.

"Yeah, but we probably need to. Night bitch."

"Go to sleep jerk." Sam threw a pillow at him but missed.

\----------------------------------

"Morning Harry." Harry grabbed his glasses and waited till the world was in focus.

"Good morning Uncle John." He smiled at the man sitting at the rooms table.

"Go grab a shower; we're heading out for breakfast in half an hour." Harry nodded and grabbed what he needed from his bag. He was out in fifteen minutes. He joined John in his truck while Dean and Sam took the Impala. Denny's wasn't too full so they got a table easily. They ordered and settled in to wait for the food.

"So what grade are you in?" Sam asked and Dean groaned theatrically.

"I'll be starting fifth in September." Harry answered, smiling at the waitress as she gave him his orange juice. The others had ordered coffee.

"So when do you turn fifteen?" Dean asked after drinking some of his coffee.

"July thirty first." Harry answered and Dean grinned at Sam, glad they hadn't missed it. The food arrived and they fell silent as they ate, the three Winchester's subtly watching how much Harry ate. John eventually pushed his plate away and looked at his nephew.

"We have two options for your time here and you get to choose. We can get an apartment here in town for the length of your stay or the boys can continue their road trip but with the two of us tagging along. You'll get to see a lot more of America that way but it's up to you." Harry stared at his uncle in shock. He actually had a say in what they did for the summer? Sure when he stayed with the Weasley's he had a choice about what to do most days but such a big decision?

"I..." Harry trailed off, looking between the three older men, completely out of his depth. Sam took pity on him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't have to decide right now Harry, think it over." Sam smiled at him and Harry nodded slowly.

\-----------------------------

Harry sat on the curb staring out at the road. He could feel someone watching him from inside the room and smiled slightly at the care that showed. A blur of movement made him look up and he smiled as he extended his arm. Hedwig swooped in and landed perfectly on the limb. Harry smiled as he stroked her feathers and Hedwig began to preen his hair affectionately. He sat in utter contentment just petting his first friend, listening to her soft hoots. He'd had to let her fly over since there was no way he was making her suffer through quarantine when she could simply track him down once he was in the country.

Sam smiled as he watched Harry interact with Hedwig, it was obvious Harry loved his pet and the owl treated him more like her chick than her owner. It was sweet but sad. What would cause him to get so close to a pet and yet be awkward around people?

"Watcha doing Sammy?" Dean asked and Sam turned to toss him a glare.

"Hedwig's here." Dean walked over to the window and couldn't help a small smile as he joined Sam in watching the two.

"There's something odd about that owl." Dean commented and Sam nodded.

"She's protective of Harry though, I don't think she's dangerous. And she did pass the Holy Water test plus flew through a devils trap." Sam spoke softly, not wanting to risk his voice carrying through the open window to Harry. "Maybe his parents use her to check up on him?" Dean grinned at that.

"Yeah if Aunt Lily was anything like Dad that's possible. As long as we don't have to go all the way to England to salt and burn them."

\-----------------------

"Hey Harry!" Dean called as he left the room. The teen looked up from where he was sitting with Hedwig perched on his shoulder, a book open in his lap. "I'm going to grab lunch, want to come with?" Harry thought about it for a second before nodding and standing. Hedwig alighted from his arm and went to sleep in a nearby tree. Harry slipped inside to put his book away and then joined Dean by the Impala. "Hop in." Harry slid in the passenger side and watched as Dean expertly pulled out of the parking lot. "You enjoying your holiday so far?" Dean glanced over at Harry who was watching the scenery. The teen turned to face him and smiled.

"It's great. I've never been anywhere other than England and Scotland before."

"Been thinking about what you want to do for the rest of it?" Harry looked down and Dean sighed softly. "Harry." His cousin looked up slowly. "You pick whichever you want to do and don't worry about us. We can do either one. There's loads of stuff to do in Colorado so we don't mind staying if you want to. Decide to travel and you can switch between cars, see a lot of the country and pick up souvenirs for your friends, that sort of thing." Dean told him seriously and Harry frowned in thought.

"So if I wanted to travel a bit...?" Dean grinned at him and nodded.

"Then I'd say pick a direction and a car. Though if you're with us you'll get the back, Sammy's too tall to fit anymore." Dean said as they pulled into the diner.

"How does west sound?" Harry asked, still a little hesitant and Dean turned to grin at him.

"Sounds great." Dean answered.

TBC...


	4. 4

John watched as Harry finished grabbing his toiletries and shoved them in his bag. Since Harry had said west he figured they could take a leisurely drive towards California and Dean could finally see the Grand Canyon. Maybe they could get enough money in Vegas or along the way to treat the kid to Disneyland or something. John felt a twinge of guilt at the thought, he'd never considered taking the boys there and now he was thinking of taking his nephew.

"You want to ride with the boys today?" Harry looked over him, obviously thinking about it.

"Would they mind?" John smiled and shook his head, guiding the teen from the room.

"Morning Dad, Harry." Sam called from where he was putting his bag into the Impala's trunk.

"Good morning Sam." Harry answered, smiling at his cousin.

"You boys mind if Harry rides with you today?" John asked and Sam grinned.

"Throw your bag in. Though I'm warning you now, Dean has the worst taste in music ever." Sam went round to the back door and quickly removed anything that was littering the seat or floor since he didn't want Harry to feel crowded. "You'll have to take the backseat though, I'm too tall to fit and Dean doesn't let anyone else drive unless he's exhausted." Sam explained.

"That's fine." Harry told him as Dean finally emerged from their room, bag slung over his shoulder.

"Morning everyone." Dean was whistling happily as he tossed his bag into the car, smiling when he saw Harry's alongside Sam's. "Riding with us today Harry?"

"Sam said it was okay." Harry answered and Dean slung an arm around his shoulders.

"Sure it is. Just ignore his complaints about the music." Dean grinned as Harry settled himself into the backseat before heading for the driver's side.

"I'll follow you boys; pull over when you want to." John called and Dean nodded.

\------------------------------------------------

They were on the I-70 heading west towards Utah with what Sam called mullet rock blaring from the speakers before Sam turned in his seat so he could see Harry in the back. He smiled when he saw the teens eyes were glued to the scenery. The silence, other than Dean's music, was comforting and familiar and seemed to be doing a lot for Harry. Sam hadn't seen the kid so relaxed since he'd arrived. Dean caught his eye and he realised that had been what his big brother had been aiming for when he'd fallen silent an hour earlier. Maybe now Harry would be more willing to talk? Sam took a deep breath and decided to go for it.

"So Harry got any sights in particular you want to see? I know Dad said we'll stop by the Grand Canyon on our way to the coast." Harry turned from the view to look at him.

"I don't know. What is there to see?" Harry asked, leaning forward slightly.

"Well, what sort of things do you like? There are museums, amusement parks, nature reserves, all sorts of things."

"I guess amusement parks sound kind of fun. Hermione would love the museums." Harry grinned and Dean tossed Sam a grin of his own.

"Who's Hermione? Girlfriend?" Dean asked, actually turning his music down.

"No way! She's more like a bossy sister. She's always bugging me and Ron about studying. She's top of our grade."

"So Hermione and Ron are your friends?"

"Best friends since first year. Ron and I met on the train and were friends immediately. We weren't friends with Hermione till Halloween when there was a break in. We saved her and she covered for us. Golden Trio ever since." Harry was almost bouncing on his seat as he talked about his friends, much to his cousin's amusement.

"Golden Trio? So either you're the teacher's pets or the school trouble makers." Dean pointed out and Harry went red.

"Um...bit of both?" The brother's laughed and Harry smiled. "It's not like we generally go looking for trouble. Hermione seems to think it finds me." Harry shrugged and Dean elbowed Sam.

"Hear that Sammy, you're not the only one."

"Jerk." Sam muttered, hitting Dean back.

"So, involved in any school sports?" Dean asked, knowing Sam would ask about favourite classes if he didn't stop him.

"Football...soccer here right?" But they both caught the slight hesitation in Harry's answer. Why would he lie about sport?

"Yeah. So do you play other schools?" Dean asked, letting the lie go for the moment.

"Nope. The school is divided into four 'houses'. They're basically you're family for the seven years. Your actions earn or remove house points and there's a cup awarded at the end of the year. Each house has a team." Harry explained.

"So the houses play against each other for points towards the cup?" Sam asked and Harry nodded.

"The house rivalries can be pretty intense but its fun." Harry smiled and shrugged.

"Any idea what you want to do when you graduate?" Sam asked and Dean groaned loudly making Harry laugh.

"Not really. I think my parents worked for the government or something. Dad was a cop or Scotland Yard I think. Not really sure what Mum did, no one really talks about them except to say how much I look like Dad but with Mum's eyes. I don't think I want to follow them though. I've got three years to decide though."

"You don't know anything about your parents?" Sam asked, appalled that no one had ever told the kid about his family. Sure Sam didn't know much about his Mom but he knew more than Harry did apparently.

"Not a lot. I know Mum was good at school and that Dad was a real prankster. Mum refused to go out with him until seventh year and they got married straight out of school. Dad's family is all dead, that's why I went to Aunt Petunia when they died. Some of Dad's friends are still around, had one for a teacher in third year, but they don't like talking about them. Too painful I guess." Dean and Sam exchanged looks, feeling sorry for the kid. Sure they'd lost their Mom but they had always had their Dad, even when he was obsessed with the hunt. But Harry had them now and they weren't going to let anything happen to him.

TBC...


	5. 5

Dean opened his eyes slightly as he heard a noise at the door, only to startle fully awake as the door shut.

"Mornin', sunshine." Sam called, breakfast in his hands.

"What time is it?" Dean asked sleepily.

"It's about 5:45." Sam answered putting the bags down.

"In the morning?"

"Yep."

"Where does the day go?" He sat up and accepted the cup of coffee. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Yeah, I grabbed a couple hours. Sounds like Harry managed to sleep through."

"Liar. 'Cause I was up at three, and you were watchin' the George Foreman infomercial. And don't try to change the subject onto Harry."

"Hey, what can I say? It's riveting TV. And I'm not changing the subject. You've seen the bags under his eyes too."

"When was the last time you got a good night's sleep? As for the bags under Harry's eyes? I'd say you're winning for size bro."

"I don't know. A little while, I guess. It's not a big deal."

"Yeah, it is." Dean shot back, starting to get a little annoyed.

"Look, I appreciate your concern—"

"Oh, I'm not concerned about you. It's your job to keep my ass alive, so I need you sharp." Sam shrugged in answer. "Seriously, are you still havin' nightmares about Jess?"

"Yeah." Sam sat on his bed and took a sip of his own coffee. "But it's not just her. It's everything. I just forgot, you know? This job—man, it gets to you."

"Well, you can't let it. You can't bring it home like that."

"So, what? All this—it never keeps you up at night?" Dean shook his head in answer but Sam pressed. "Never? You're never afraid?"

"No, not really." Sam gave him a look and then reached under Dean's pillow and pulled out a knife. Dean took it from him. "That's not fear. That is precaution."

"All right, whatever. I'm too tired to argue." Sam answered and then turned as the connecting door opened and their Dad walked in. "Morning." Sam called and John nodded.

"I just got a call. Dean you remember Jerry Panowski, we helped him with a poltergeist a while back. He's run into something he thinks is our type of job. Harry's already packing, I told him a family friend needs help."

"And what do we do with Harry while working?" Sam asked, already gathering his things.

"That's easy, Dean will stay with him."John answered getting two disbelieving stares in return.

"What!"

"Dean you don't fly and Sam has no problem with it. Easy choice." John explained and had to smother a grin as Dean actually pouted. "Okay?"

"Yes sir."

"Then let's go."

\-----------------------------

Dean hid a smirk as Harry fidgeted, again. To do the kid credit he was trying to do some summer homework, looked like chemistry from where Dean was but he wasn't sure. And considering Dean was going mad being stuck in the motel with nothing to do other than watch his cousin Harry was actually doing quite well in ignoring him.

"I'm nearly fifteen, I can be left alone for an hour or two Dean." Harry finally stated, staring at him from over the top of his textbook.

"Nope. Dad would kill me if I did."

"Then find something to do. Please!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm trying to write this stupid essay so Snape doesn't kill me in September!" Harry growled and then buried his head back in his book. Dean winced, a little guilty feeling, and then stood up. He wanted to go to the Impala, get his weapons and clean them but with Harry in the room he couldn't. The kid was smart, that was certain and he would definitely be suspicious if he saw the weapons. "I think one of my books fell out in the boot, can I go get it or do I need an armed guard?" Dean chuckled and motioned for him to go. It was nice to see Harry was no longer so hesitant around them, Sam superglueing Dean's beer bottle to his hand had probably helped their cousin relax a bit, especially when even their Dad had laughed at it.

Harry opened the Impala's boot and leant over to search for his missing book. He was very thankful for the charm that made his books look like muggle school books and novels or he'd never get his summer work done. He didn't know why his uncle and cousins were so...protective of him but it had been nice until it had started being downright annoying. John had told Dean to watch out for him and other than bathroom breaks Dean hadn't let him out of his sight.

Harry grinned and grabbed his book only to jump back in surprise as a section of what he'd thought was the floor popped up. His eyes widened in horror as he stared at the compartments contents. What were they, gun runners? He quickly pushed the compartment shut and then turned to stare at the motel room where Dean was waiting. Should he run? But most of his things were in the room. And if anything they had only been overprotective towards him. No, he wouldn't run, yet. He was a Gryffindor after all, but he was also part Slytherin. Time to be sneaky.

\-------------------------------

John shot a glance at the rooms other bed but Harry was asleep, burrowed deep in the covers. He turned back to his sons and had to smile at Dean's grouchiness. He knew his eldest hated sitting a job out but someone needed to stay with Harry and John wanted the chance to get to know the man Sam had become while away.

"So you guys found sulphur?" Dean asked quietly, not wanting to wake Harry. Unknown to the Winchesters green eyes were open to slits as their owner strained to hear every word spoken. "You know, there's not too many things that leave behind a sulphuric residue."

"Demonic possession?" Sam asked.

"It would explain how a mortal man would have the strength to open up an emergency hatch." John pointed out. "If the guy was possessed, it's possible."

"Yeah, but this goes way beyond floatin' over a bed or barfin' pea soup. I mean, it's one thing to possess a person, but to use 'em to take down an entire airplane?" Dean pointed out. In his bed Harry had gone utterly still in shock. Demons?

"You ever heard of somethin' like this before?" Sam asked and John shook his head.

"Never." Sam got his laptop out and began searching. Harry held still as he heard the clacking of the keys and Dean moving around the room restlessly.

"So, every religion in every world culture has the concept of demons and demonic possession, right? I mean, Christian, Native American, Hindu—you name it." Sam finally spoke after what felt like half the night to Harry.

"Yeah, but none of 'em describe anything like this." Dean pointed out.

"Well, that's not exactly true. See, according to Japanese beliefs, certain demons are behind certain disasters, both natural and man-made. One causes earthquakes, another causes disease." Sam explained. Harry was wondering why his uncle was staying quiet, wanting his kids to work it out for themselves maybe?

"And this one causes plane crashes? All right, so, what? We've got a demon that's evolved with the times and found a way to ratchet up the body count?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. You know, who knows how many planes it's brought down before this one? What?"

"I don't know, man. This isn't our normal gig. I mean, demons—they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. This is big."

"True but we still have to do the job boys." John's cell phone rang and they all tensed but Harry didn't move. "Kid sleeps like the dead when he actually sleeps." Harry relaxed at that. John spoke very quietly into the phone for a bit before hanging up. "The pilot's dead."

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"He went up in a small plane, forty minutes in it crashed."

"Where?" Dean asked.

"Nazareth." John answered. "No point making Harry move again. Dean..."

"I know, I'm staying with Harry. It's not that bad, kids been doing his homework."

"In other words you've been bored out of your mind." Sam pointed out and Harry fought the urge to laugh.

"You boys get some sleep now."

"Goodnight Dad." Harry waited until he was positive his uncle was asleep before turning onto his back and staring up at the ceiling. Demons? So either his family were insane or they were going after something that only a squad of Unspeakables would take on. Great options.

\-------------------------------

Dean frowned as he watched Harry. The kid was petting his owl and obviously deep in thought over something. But what? He'd noticed Harry watching them more closely than usual before his Dad and Sam had left and he was avoiding the Impala's trunk...Dean's eyes went wide and he felt like swearing but managed to hold it in. Had they left a weapon in sight? Or had Harry accidentally managed to open the compartment? If he had the poor kid had to be terrified! But what could he do? He couldn't just tell Harry about the family business, he'd think Dean was crazy.

Harry could feel Dean watching him but he didn't know what to do. Should he admit to eavesdropping and to what he'd seen in the car? But how would Dean react? And Harry was definitely not going to mention his own magical status since he doubted they only hunted demons from what they'd been saying.

"Um Harry?" Harry froze and then turned to Dean.

"Yeah?"

"You okay? You seem to have something on your mind." Dean winced, Sammy was definitely better at that sort of thing.

"I'm fine." Harry assured him, way too quickly.

"Look Harry... I know we barely know each other but you're family and that means a lot round here. You can tell me and Sam anything, Dad can be a little more judgemental but we'll listen. So yeah." Dean shrugged uncomfortably and Harry managed a small smile.

"I...um. When I got my book out of the car it sort of... I saw what's there. And the other night I wasn't exactly asleep when you guys were talking." Harry admitted softly and Dean paled.

"And what did you figure out?" He asked and Harry shrugged.

"Well first I was scared; you have an awful lot of guns in your car Dean. Then I heard you talking about demons and stopping it hurting people so...some sort of cop for the weird stuff?" As Harry fell silent Dean was pretty sure his jaw was on the floor. Harry was definitely a smart kid. And so far he didn't seem to be freaking out.

"So you don't think we're all nuts?" Dean asked and Harry smiled.

"Nope. I...I've had to get good at telling when people are lying and stuff. I know you're telling the truth. And I've seen people who are well crazy, you're not. Therefore you must be telling the truth." Harry told him and Dean stared at him in shock.

"Huh. Well since you know I guess I should explain a few things."

\-------------------------------

"So did you get the demon?" Harry's innocent question had John and Sam freezing in their tracks. Dean couldn't hold his laughter in and even Harry laughed softly.

"Dean?"John barked.

"He saw the weapons and wasn't as asleep as we thought the other night. I've been filling him in on things." Dean explained.

"Oh. And yeah, we got it. You would have hated it Dean, the plane nearly crashed." Sam told them, finally moving away from the door.

"I know, saw it on the news." Dean told his brother. "You're both okay?"

"Few bumps, nothing bad." John said and Dean rolled his eyes.

"Harry grab the first aid kit." Dean said and the teen slid off the bed and went into the bathroom.

"He's really handling it?" John asked quietly and Dean grinned.

"Better than Sammy did. I gave him some books; did you know the kid knows Latin? Perks of a boarding school."

"Dean!"

"I'm not saying teach him to hunt, but he does need to know how to protect himself."

"Dean's right Sam." They fell silent as Harry emerged with the kit and then settled in to patching their wounds.

TBC...


	6. 6

"Happy Birthday!" Harry froze for a second at the sight of his family sitting in the motel room with a small cake in front of them. He stared from the cake back to his uncle and cousins, pretty sure his jaw was touching the ground.

"You going to cut this thing or not Har?" Dean asked him and Harry walked over to the table.

"This is for me?" He asked and all three men nodded.

"Happy fifteenth kid." John told him, reaching out to ruffle his hair.

"Cake first then presents." Sam told him, handing over a knife. Harry finally relaxed and smiled as he cut the cake. John served up the ice cream and they all dug in.

"Mine first!" Dean crowed and handed over the messily wrapped package. Harry grinned and carefully opened it as slowly as he could, making Sam snicker. There was an amulet of some sort on a leather cord, a magazine that had him turning bright red and a comic book. "The amulet's for protection." Dean told him and Harry smiled as he pulled it over his head.

"Mine next." Sam handed over his package which harry opened at a more normal speed. Inside was a book on advanced Latin, a science fiction novel and a silver ring, etched with symbols. Harry smiled and Sam pointed out which finger he should wear it on.

"You boys trying to make him a mini-Dean?" John asked, smiling at Harry's new protection jewellery as he handed over his own package. Harry opened it to reveal a book on protection symbols and rites, a silver knife and a small flask. He held the flask up curiously. "Holy Water." John explained and Harry nodded, still smiling.

"Thanks. These are great! Though not really sure what to do with the knife." Harry admitted.

"We'll show you plus some basic hand to hand. You need to be able to protect yourself, just in case." John told him and Harry agreed eagerly, after all, how many wizards could fight without their wands?

\-------------------------

John watched as Sam laughingly tackled Harry and the teen began squirming, trying to get free of the taller man. He winced in sympathy as Harry's knee landed very close to a rather sensitive area but Sam kept his grip on the teen. He'd been right about Harry; the kid was fast on his feet! Not very strong though but they were working on that. He knew there was a very fine line between teaching Harry how to protect himself and training him to hunt and for once John didn't want to cross it. He didn't want Harry to have the fear and danger they did. The kid deserved to have an actual childhood, at least what was left of it. He just wished Harry would open up to one of them about his nightmares and the scars John had glimpsed one morning.

"Found a new job." Dean said as he walked up behind John. "Toledo, Ohio. Guy died in an odd way, could be our type of thing." John nodded.

"Sam! Harry! Pack up we're leaving!" John called and the two boys separated, Harry panting for air while Sam was breathing normally. It didn't take long for them to pack and get on the road, Harry riding with John.

"So is it one of your jobs?" Harry asked as they got onto the highway.

"Could be. You know the rules?" He asked and harry sighed, rolling his eyes slightly.

"I stay in the room when you're gone and do my homework or read. Don't answer the phone unless it rings five times, hangs up and then rings again. If you're gone past a meal order delivery, put an envelope on the door with the money and wait till they're gone to get the food. Don't let anyone in the room. I get it Uncle John." Harry recited.

"Just want to be sure. I don't want you getting hurt or taken as bait by something."

"I know, I don't really mind. Besides this will be the best summer work I've ever turned in!" Harry told him and John laughed. "So what do you think you're after?"

"Won't know till we get there."

\---------------------------------

Harry tensed as the door opened and then relaxed as his family walked in, going back to his writing.

"Everything okay here?" John called and harry nodded, finishing his sentence before looking up.

"No one called or came to the door and I've been working on an essay. Did you find what you were looking for?" Harry put his pen down and stretched, if they didn't like his work being in pen too bad.

"Looks like it, don't say Bloody Mary around ant reflective surfaces while we're here okay?" Harry frowned at Dean's odd order but it wasn't the weirdest thing he'd been asked to do or not do since he'd been with them.

"Okay...why?"

"Because she's killing people through mirrors, we think." Sam explained and Harry pulled a face.

"Eww. Can we not get dinner soon?" They all laughed at him.

"Sorry Har, guess where we're headed now?" Dean teased and Harry groaned.

"Dinner?"

\-------------------------

Once he was sure the others had gone Harry pulled out a book and began flipping through it, looking for anything that could help. The spell to black out mirrors could come in handy. Travelling with Hunters made him very glad he'd bought those extra defence books. Unfortunately even Wizards tended to discount a lot of the things his family said they'd hunted and apparently Bloody Mary was one of those. Hearing noise from Dean and Sam's room he opened the connecting door only to see his cousins running around covering the mirrors and glass, a girl cowering on the bed.

"Guys?"

"Harry, good. Charlie this is our cousin Harry, he'll stay with you while we take care of this, okay?" Sam said as Dean pulled Harry aside.

"She's seeing Bloody Mary so keep her away from anything reflective; in fact you better ditch the glasses for now." Harry nodded and put them in his pocket, squinting to see Dean clearly.

"Where's Uncle John?"

"Chasing down a lead. We're going to meet up with him. Make sure she doesn't leave this room, okay?"

"Sure. Be careful?"

"Always." Dean ruffled his hair and for once Harry didn't try to dodge. Dean grinned and they left while Harry sat next to Charlie on the bed.

"Hi." He greeted and she turned to look at him.

"So you do this stuff too?" She asked fearfully.

"Nope. Only found out I had extra family about two months ago, I live in England. Flew out to visit, found out the things that go bump in the night are a bit realer than most people think."

"Bet it was a shock." She sniffled so he handed her a tissue.

"Considering I found the weapons collection first it was actually a relief. Uncle John and the guys are really good. I bet you'll be able to go home by morning.

"Thanks." They sat in silence for a while before a soft ringing made her look at him. "Is that your phone?" She asked and Harry winced.

"Not exactly. Excuse me for a moment?" He slipped into the bathroom and pulled his wand. It almost vibrated out of his hand and he bit his lip. The monitoring charm he'd put on Sam a few weeks before was going off. But he couldn't leave Charlie alone, could he? And anyway what could he do against Mary? His mind was made up when Dean's charm went off and then John's. "I've got to go, they're in trouble. Just stay here!" He yelled as he bolted out the door. "Point me Sam Winchester." His wand spun and then pointed down the street so he started to run. He slowed as he saw to unconscious cops but didn't stop as his wand pointed inside the store. He ran inside to see all three Winchesters bleeding from the eyes and a rather ghastly woman screaming at them.

"You killed them! All those people! You killed them!"

"Hey!" Harry yelled and she turned to him. "Expecto Patronum!" Prongs leapt from his wand and charged Mary, throwing her back into another mirror. "Reducto!" He aimed at the mirror and it exploded into millions of little shards. Breathing hard he holstered his wand and dashed over to his family only to freeze as John levelled a gun at his head.

"Dad!" Sam yelled, wiping furiously at the blood on his face. "What are you doing?"

"You saw what he did." John said coldly.

"Yeah, I saved your lives." Harry shot back; there was no way he'd get to his wand in time if his Uncle decided to shoot.

"Come on Dad; let's get back to the motel. Harry can explain there." Dean coxed and Harry looked away at the betrayal in his cousins eyes.

\-------------------------

Harry sat silently on his bed as the others said goodbye to Charlie, he knew John still had his gun aimed at him even if it was being held out of Charlie's sight.

"Bye Harry, thanks for staying with me." She called and Harry managed a wan smile.

"No problem." He answered and the door shut. Harry let his gaze shift to the floor, not wanting to see the disappointed and angry glares he knew would be aimed at him.

"Harry? What did you do back at the store?" Sam's gentle question surprised him enough that he looked up at his cousin. Sam gave him a shaky smile and Harry nodded.

"Magic. I knew you were in trouble so I tracked you. First spell was to keep her away and distracted, just lucky it pushed her into the mirror. Second was to destroy the mirror." Harry answered quietly and then winced at his uncle's sound of disgust.

"You're a witch!" John accused and Harry shook his head.

"Wizard. Mum and Dad were too. I'm a wand waving, broom flying, cauldron using Wizard. I go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, one of the finest magic schools in the world."

"You go to magic school?" Sam asked and Harry nodded.

"Books are charmed to look like they're for normal school so I can do my homework around muggles, non-magic people." He explained. "I was going to tell you but...for the first time in my life I got to be normal. And I liked it." Harry admitted and Dean held Sam back from going to the teen.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked and Harry looked down again.

"Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon...they don't like magic. She blames magic for getting mum killed and stuff I guess. I didn't know till I was eleven, they told me my parents died in a car crash." Sam pulled away from Dean and slowly sat beside Harry, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What really happened?"

"They were killed. There was this wizard, he went about as Dark as you can. Started a war before I was born. Mum and Dad were among the ones that opposed him. He tracked them down and killed them, tried to kill me too. But Mum died protecting me so it backfired on him. The only memory I have of them is Mum screaming for him to take her instead." Harry explained and Sam pulled him into a hug. Harry stiffened and then threw his arms around Sam. Sam glared at his father and brother over Harry's shoulder and Dean relented a bit but John still held his gun.

"So you've been playing us all this time?" John asked and Harry pulled back from Sam to stare at him.

"What?"

"Acting like you don't know about all this?"

"I didn't! Wizards think most of that stuff's a myth too. Werewolves, vampires, dragons, that sort of stuff is real, sure. There's even some rumour about demons. And the school has some ghosts that are friendly. But the rest I've never heard of. I didn't know normal people did what you guys do. I just wanted...I just wanted family that liked me." Harry finished so softly they could barely hear him and Sam pulled him back into a hug.

"If they believe demons are myths then where do your powers come from?" Dean asked, ignoring Sam's glare. He was trying to help! If they could prove Harry knew nothing about demons and stuff then their Dad would calm down, hopefully.

"Inside us. You're born with magic or not. Merlin was one of us. There's secret societies all across the planet."

"Why do you hide?"

"Um, Salem ring a bell? They didn't get many of our kind and those they did got out fine if they had their wand but people fear what they don't understand. Besides if they knew how long till they demanded we fix everything? There are few limits to what magic can do. So it's better if we stay hidden." Harry told them and Dean nodded, moving to sit so harry was in the middle. John sighed and lowered his gun.

"Lets get some sleep, we'll talk more in the morning."

"Hey Sam, how bout you share with Harry tonight?" Dean asked and Sam nodded, taking harry to their room after grabbing the kids bag. John glared at him but let it slide, Dean would never do anything he believed put Sam in danger.

TBC...


	7. 7

Sam lay still, not sure why he was awake until he heard it again. He didn't even hesitate in leaving his bed and going to the other. Looking down he found Harry locked in another nightmare, his face pale and soaked with sweat. He slipped into the bed and pulled the teen into his arms, trying to comfort him, smiling when Harry slowly began to relax. Sleepy green eyes opened and then went wide.

"It's okay, you were having a nightmare." Sam whispered and Harry looked away.

"Sorry. I'll be quite, I promise." Harry whispered and Sam tightened his grip, mad that his Dad and Dean had made Harry's behaviour revert to the way he'd been when he'd first arrived.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Har. I ever tell you what got me back into hunting?" Harry shook his head and slowly looked back at him. "Dean showed up because he couldn't find Dad. And promptly started flirting with my girlfriend." That got a small smile. "So I eventually agreed to go as long as we were back by Monday since I had a big interview. We ended up in the middle of a hunt and then Dean took me back to my place at Stanford. When I got there, the shower was running so I thought Jess was in the shower. I lay down on the bed to wait for her and then I felt something drip onto my face. I looked up and...she was there, pinned to the ceiling and looking terrified. I tried to reach her but I couldn't. Then she burst into flames. Dean had come back and he pulled me out. Our Mom died the same way in my nursery when I was six months old." Sam explained and suddenly it was his turn to be hugged.

"It hurts." Harry whispered, burying his head in Sam's shirt. "Cedric was a few years older than me in Hufflepuff, I'm in Gryffindor. There was this tri-school tournament. But there was a mess up and I ended up entered as well. Cedric helped me out when he could and when it came to the end we reached the cup at the same time. I suggested we both take since it would be a win for Hogwarts no matter what. We didn't know it was a portkey. We ended up in a graveyard and then I heard him, the man that betrayed my parents. He killed Cedric." Harry sobbed, choking back sobs and Sam tightened his grip. It was amazing that even though they were very different people they had still gone through very similar things.

"What happened wasn't your fault Harry; you're just a kid, no matter what anyone says." Sam soothed and Harry shook his head, fighting tears. "It's okay to cry Harry, sometimes it even helps." Harry gave in and broke down. Sam just held on and let him cry.

He looked up and glared as he saw his Dad hovering at the connecting door. His glare faded as he saw the look of understanding on the older man's face. John left silently and Sam went back to comforting the teen.

\-------------------------

Sam woke to find himself alone in the bed. Sitting up in alarm he relaxed as he spotted Harry sitting at the table and then frowned as he watched what the wizard was doing. Harry had an odd looking silver bowl on the table in front of him and a slender stick against his temple. Frowning in concentration Harry pulled the stick away and a silver strand emerged from his head to follow the stick. He gently lowered it into the bowl and then slumped in his chair. That had Sam throwing the covers back and moving to his side.

"Harry, are you alright?" Sam knelt beside him and Harry looked up at him with a small smile.

"Just tired, I've never tried this before." Harry admitted, leaning into the land Sam had placed against his forehead.

"What did you do?" Sam asked but Harry shook his head.

"After breakfast, it's something for the three of you." Harry answered and Sam nodded.

"I'm going to go get said food, will you be okay?" Sam's concern made Harry smile.

"I'll have my shower and get dressed." He told his cousin and Sam nodded, throwing on some clothes and heading out.

When Harry emerged from his shower he stopped dead at the sight of his uncle and older cousin sitting at the table staring at the pensieve.

"Good morning." He greeted softly and was relieved to see that there was warmth in Dean's eyes when he answered.

"Where's Sam?" John asked brusquely and Harry backed off a bit.

"He went to get breakfast Uncle John."

Hearing the quiet way Harry answered his Dad made Dean regret his own actions the night before. Because despite everything else he was still just a kid, one they suspected had not been treated well by his family. Dean was grateful that Sammy had rebelled against John for the millionth time and had chosen to stick by Harry. But everything they knew about magic said it was evil and Dean found it harder than Sam to fight against a whole lifetime of believing that. Then he'd look at Harry and it was suddenly easier to believe not all magic was bad. The kid wasn't evil; he was just a lonely teenager who from the look and sound of things had never been treated well by family. And what does his Dad go and do, he pulls a gun on him. Dean sighed, catching Harry's attention. He decided he wasn't going to play peacekeeper, this time he was picking a side.

Harry froze when Dean grinned at him and patted the seat beside him. Dean's grin softened into an understanding smiled and Harry walked over, sitting down beside his cousin. He saw his Uncle tense and flinched slightly only to find a warm hand on his arm. Dean shifted a little so that he was somewhat in front of Harry, protecting him from John's disapproving stare. Harry relaxed as the motel room door opened and Sam came in with the food. Seeing the way they were sitting Sam smiled at Dean who just shrugged.

They ate in silence, Dean and Sam keeping Harry as far from their Dad as possible. No one mentioned the odd bowl after Sam shook his head at Dean when he went to touch it. Once everyone was done they turned to Harry.

"Inside that bowl is a copy of all my memories up to boarding the plane at Heathrow. The bowl is a penseive; they're used to store memories so you can take a closer look at them. It's kind of like a movie but you can move around inside it, you just can't interact and nothing going on can affect you." Harry explained and Sam's eyes went wide while John looked thoughtful.

"Harry, you didn't have to."Sam started but Harry cut him off.

"Yes I did." Harry finally met John's stare. "You wanted my life story well it's all in there."

"Sam's right Harry." Dean tried but Harry simply stared at him and then John and Dean gave up. Harry was right; their Dad was a stubborn bastard, especially when it came to protecting his boys. "So what do we do?"

"Hold hands." Harry answered, unable to hide his grin at Dean and John's annoyed looks. "It needs magic to activate and since I'm the only magical person here I'll be pulling you in with me." Harry explained and the grudgingly held hands. "Ready?" At the consenting noises Harry touched the silvery liquid and they plunged into his memories.

TBC...


	8. 8

Sam blinked and looked over at his family before spotting Harry, almost hidden in the darkness. The teen had his back to them, gaze focused on something in front of him. Moving closer Sam saw it was a crib with a small dark haired child in it. Looking around the dim room he realised it was a nursery though a magical one from the toys that moved on their own. He started as the door slammed open and a red haired woman ran in. Looking at her eyes it was easy to tell she was Harry's mother; they had the same emerald eyes. He watched as she bent over the crib to lift the baby only to spin around, wand raised as a man entered the room.

"Stand aside you foolish girl and I'll let you live." The man hissed but the woman simply planted herself more firmly in front of her baby.

"No, not Harry. Take me instead!" She cried, half turning for one last look at her son. Sensing his mothers fear the child began to cry. But the shuddering breaths he could hear over the top did not belong to the scene. Focusing on Harry again he could see the teen's body shaking with suppressed sobs.

"Avada Kedavra." The man called and a jet of green light lashed out, hitting the woman who instantly dropped dead. He then turned to the baby and lashed out with the same spell. There was a flash of green and then the scene faded.

"No one knows exactly what happened when the curse hit, not even me. But it was decided that Mum's sacrifice is what saved me." Harry commented softly as the world blurred to reveal a neat, normal kitchen, with a dark haired toddler on a stool in front of the stove. The boy turned, frypan in hand and they all got a good look at the young Harry.

The boy was short and very skinny, his nose scrunched up in concentration as he carefully carried the pan towards a table set for three. A taller, much larger toddler came into the room and tripped him, sending the pan flying and the small boy crashing to the ground. At the sound a thin, tall woman came in and then scowled down at Harry.

"You stupid, clumsy freak! Clean up this mess and then back to your cupboard. No breakfast for you!"

John stared in shock as his sister screamed at their nephew. That couldn't really be Petunia, could it? All he could do was watch silently as Harry grew in the memories, the treatment he received never getting any better. Seeing him beaten by his own cousin and his gang, his uncle threatening him with a belt though never actually hitting him except with an open hand, it made John's blood boil.

All three Winchesters found themselves holding back rage as they watched Harry enter his parent's world and the way that world treated him over the next four years. Sam and Dean exchanged a look and nodded at each other, no way they were letting Harry go back to England, they'd find someone to home school him or something.

"Kill the spare!" Sam pulled Harry into his arms as the teens legs gave way. Harry turned in his arms, burying his face in Sam's shirt as Cedric fell down dead. His grip tightened as Harry was tied to a gravestone and then his blood forcibly taken to resurrect his enemy. He watched the mock duel in horror and just held Harry closer as the ghosts emerged to help him. He fought back an angry cry as the fool of a minister refused to believe Harry's story and then only a few days later Harry was sent back to the Dursley's. Though Petunia's change in attitude towards her nephew was good to see. The world blurred and then they were back in their chairs in the motel room.

Without a word Harry got up and left the room. Sam followed as far as the door and relaxed as he saw Harry settle on a bench in the park opposite the motel, Hedwig soaring down to comfort him.

"Poor kid." Dean commented softly and Sam nodded. "Still think he's a threat Dad?" Dean asked, eyes hard and John looked away. Both brothers could only watch as their Dad left the room for his own, his face drawn and weary.

"He's stronger than he looks." Sam murmured and Dean walked over to join him in watching Harry.

"Of course he is, he's family." Dean grinned when Sam turned to look at him and Sam smiled back.

"I don't want him to go back. After what happened last school year you can bet that minister is going to try something. And he'd be safer with us."

"Yeah, but we can't teach him magic." Dean pointed out.

"So we find someone who can and we teach him everything else. That things going to come after him again and we can make sure he's ready."

"Okay." Dean answered and Sam relaxed, glad to have Dean on his side.

\-----------------------------

The room swap seemed to be permanent as Harry got ready for bed, Sam reading in the other bed. He hadn't seen his Uncle since leaving the motel after the pensieve and he wasn't sure what that meant. He was happy that Dean had completely thawed out and was acting like he had before he'd found out about Harry's powers. Sam had pretty much accepted him from the start so he was kind of glad they were still sharing a room. They both stared in shock though when the connecting door opened and Dean came in with his bags, pillow and blankets.

"Dean?" Sam questioned and the older brother grinned, setting his bedding down on the couch.

"Thought I'd sleep in here, Dad snores too loud." Sam's eye roll said he didn't believe that for a second but Harry smiled at his cousin softly and Dean grinned back.

"You can have my bed Dean, I'm smaller so I'll fit on the couch better." Harry offered but Dean shook his head.

"Nope. I'll be fine." Dean insisted and Sam groaned.

"Just share with me, not like it'll be the first time."

"And be squished or have to suffer your cold feet? No way sasquatch." Harry laughed at the banter and the brothers shared a grin at their success.

"I don't mind sharing, if you want." Harry offered quietly and Dean looked over at him.

"You sure?" Dean asked and Harry nodded.

"It....it helped last night." Harry admitted and Dean nodded.

"Move over." Dean motioned for Harry to take the side closest to the wall and Sam smiled at Dean's protectiveness. Anyone or anything coming in would have to get through both of them to reach Harry. With Dean's comforting presence so close Harry actually managed a good night's sleep, not even waking when Dean pulled him closer to sooth his first nightmare.

TBC...


	9. 9

"Albus!" The old wizard looked up as Tonks screamed his name, barging into his office with Alastor and Kingsley.

"What seems to be the problem?" he asked kindly, slightly worried since all three had been among those sent to retrieve Harry.

"It's Potter, he's missing." Kingsley stated before Tonks could answer.

"The Aunt knows something about it, she was way too happy to see us foiled." Alastor growled. "I warned you cutting off contact wasn't smart. The boy just lived through hell and you left him there alone."

"That's enough Alastor; I know what I'm doing. Harry did not need to hear what the Ministry is saying; he needed the time alone to grieve."

"And now he's gone! What do we do?" Tonks asked, hair shifting colours to reflect her changing emotions.

"Inform the Order and organise a search. He must be found before term starts."

\-------------------------------------

The three young males woke the next morning to the smell of coffee and pancakes. Much to their surprise John was sitting at the table with a veritable feast spread out in front of him slowly sipping at a cup of coffee.

"You three planning to get up any time today?" He asked and Dean grinned, recognising the apology for what it was. He pulled Harry up out of the bed and gave him a gentle push towards the bathroom with orders to wash up.

It wasn't long before they were all seated and eating, neither Winchester boy commenting on the fact that every breakfast food Harry had admitted to liking was present. When they were all full to bursting they lazed around drinking their beverage of choice, coffee for the Winchester's and hot chocolate for Harry.

"We need to talk about a lot of things." John finally said and he noticed Harry stiffen. "I...owe you an apology Harry, you're my nephew and I should never have pulled a gun on you without letting you explain so...I'm sorry." By the time he was finished Harry was staring at him wide eyed.

"You don't have to..." the teen mumbled and John frowned.

"Yes I do."

"Okay. But I should have told you when you told me about hunting so it's my fault too." Dean snorted at that but they decided that was the best they were going to get from the kid.

"So we need to talk about what happens next. For starters I think we're all agreed that you will not be going back to Petunia ever again. I know she was better this summer but you do not deserve what they did to you. Time with us is dangerous but at least it's outside danger." John explained and Harry stared at him before smiling in thanks. "That said we need to discuss your schooling. I know I don't like the idea of sending you back to that school for several reason and none of them have to do with the fact it teaches magic. I do however have problems with the way the staff acts and the fact that you aren't getting a normal education as well. And after last year it just plain probably won't be safe."

"We agree with Dad Harry, that school just isn't safe. Is there any way you could be privately tutored or just swap schools? We could easily home school you for regular high school, it saves on questions about why you move around so much." Sam explained and Dean nodded to let Harry know they all did agree.

"Leave Hogwarts? I..." Harry trailed off, unsure what to do. He loved the school and his friends, but...why hadn't he heard anything from them all summer? Even when he'd been at the Dursley's there'd been not one owl, not even from Sirius.

"You've still got time Harry, just think about it, please." Dean told him and Harry nodded.

"Sam, why don't you see about getting some books to try and start him on normal school work, see where he's up to. We're also going to increase your training Harry, if Voldemort has targeted you so many times already then he won't stop and you'll need to be ready."

"You don't have to do this."

"Yeah we do, you're family Harry." Dean stated.

\----------------------------

John watched as Sam and Harry sat together, dark heads bent over a workbook of some sort. How could Petunia have neglected their nephew so badly that he had the school knowledge of an eleven year old? She should have done something other than blame all her life problems on the child. It wasn't like he was hard to love; in fact it was all too easy to do so.

Harry still hadn't said anything about school but they still had a few weeks left and he had an idea, as long as his old friend could hold off shooting him long enough for him to explain. Maybe a phone call would be safer? He knew that one day someone would come looking for Harry, especially if he didn't turn up for school, so they needed a safe place for the kid.

\--------------------------------

"Singer."

"Bobby, its John Winchester. I know you're still mad but don't hang up. I need your help."

"And why should I give it?"

"Because it'll help make Sam and Dean happy plus keep a kid safe." John rushed out and smirked when Bobby stayed silent.

"I'm listening."

"Know anything about wizards? As in people who use a wand and don't make demonic deals?"

"Vague rumours, why?" Bobby asked suspiciously.

"Because my nephew is one and needs a safe place while he finishes school. You're place is the safest I know of."

"NEPHEW?" John winced at Bobby's shout.

"I have, had, two half-sisters in England. The youngest is dead, he's her son. Due to a war England just isn't safe for him anymore. He's been living with the sister I knew about. Petunia...I'm ashamed to call her my sister after seeing what she's put him through. He's barely fifteen and has been through more near death experiences than any kid should. I want to keep him with us but he needs a stable environment. He hasn't been to anything but a magic school since he was eleven. I know it's a lot to ask..."

"The lot of you get here. I want to meet this kid." With that Bobby hung up and John relaxed. At least he hadn't said no yet.

\----------------------------------

Harry looked out over the scrap yard as his uncle parked the truck, Dean pulling up behind them.

"I know it's not much to look at but this place was probably the closest either of the boys had to a home for years." John explained and Harry grinned.

"It's brilliant." Sam opened his door and Harry dropped to the ground, having gotten used to the height of the truck weeks ago though he still preferred the Impala. The four of them headed for the house and a gruff looking man emerged.

"Hey Bobby!" Sam called with a grin and the man nodded.

"Good to see you Sam. Get inside the lot of you." He motioned them inside and Harry raised an eyebrow at the row of shot glasses. Seeing the others pick one up he followed along and then realised what the clear liquid was, holy water. "So you're John's nephew." Bobby stated once they'd drunk.

"Yes sir."

"Drop the sir kid. Name?" Bobby was frowning slightly as he looked Harry over.

"Harry Potter." Bobby's frown deepened as he thought over why the name was familiar.

"The kid that stopped the last Dark Lord?" He asked and Harry nodded in annoyance.

"Not that a baby can do much, whatever happened was more Mum's doing than mine. Anyway, he's back now." Bobby groaned at that.

"Targeting you?"

"Yep. So I decided it was a good time to track down the family that showed up in a school project."

"Alright so what do you need from me John?"

"Since you know about wizards, we need help either finding a school in America or finding a way to get him homeschooled in magic. Plus Sam's been helping him get to the point where we can sign him up for normal school but he needs a permanent address for that."

"I'm not sure about the magic school. Can't you contact your government? As for normal school, you want him to live here? What happens when I leave on a hunt?"

"I can be left alone for a few days you know." Harry grumbled. "I could send a note with Hedwig addressed to the American Wizarding Government, she can find anyone if she has a name." He shrugged and they nodded.

"At least it's a start."

TBC...


	10. 10

"Look like you've got something on your mind kid." Bobby watched as the teen spun around, hand on either his wand or a weapon. "Easy." He soothed, hands held up and Harry blushed.

"Sorry." Harry muttered, slumping back down.

"So?" Bobby pushed and Harry shrugged but finally looked away as Bobby continued to stare him down.

"Why are they doing this?" He finally asked softly and Bobby sat down beside him on the stairs.

"Doing what?"

"All this." Harry waved his hand around to indicate Bobby's place. "Trying to get me into a normal school and even find a way for me to keep learning magic. Wanting to keep me. Why?" Bobby sighed, he'd had a feeling it was something like that.

"There's nothing more important than family to those three and you're family. Far as they're concerned that's all that matters. Sure John ain't the most demonstrative but once he takes to you that's it. Dean...he's always been raised to protect his brother and now he includes you in that because you're younger, not trained and family. Sam...Sam's always wanted normal and having more family is normal. He's the easiest going of the three in a way and he doesn't see things as black and white as his Daddy. Let me guess, he accepted your magic first?" Harry nodded slowly. "That's Sam. Let them help Harry."

"I don't know what to do. How can I just leave everyone?" Tortured green eyes looked up at him and Bobby wanted to curse. Poor kid was drowning under the weight of the world and no matter what they did eventually he would have to go back and face it.

"You're not leaving them Harry. What you are doing is getting the training you need to help them. You can't help them if you get yourself killed by trying to fight too early. You take all the training you can find and then you go back." Bobby explained and Harry nodded.

"Makes sense I guess. But what if...what if they die while I'm not there?"

"Who says your being there will change that? They may even be safer with you away, less reason to target them."

"I know. And it's not like I've heard from them all summer..." Harry looked away to stare out at the old cars. "Guess I'm staying then. Now all I have to do is find magic tutors..." Harry grinned suddenly.

"Got an idea?"

"Maybe. How do you feel about escaped convicts?" Bobby's eyebrow went up.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sirius watched as a familiar snowy owl approached and then landed on his outstretched arm. He gently stroked her feathers and she nibbled his ear.

"Is Harry okay?" She bobbed her head and he relaxed. No one was more protective of Harry than Hedwig, must be her maternal instinct or something. Seeing the letter attached to her leg he gently removed it and then got the exhausted bird some water. He had a feeling he wouldn't be stuck in his family home for much longer.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry stared at the building nervously, gripping his bag tightly.

"Hey." He turned his head.

"You'll be fine. And if you're not just call and me or Dean will come pick you up, okay?"

"Okay." Harry answered.

"Remember you're Harrison Singer, Bobby's nephew. Harry for short. I promise, you're all caught up on what you need to know." Sam went over it again to try and make Harry relax a little. "Its high school Harry, you'll be fine."

"Right." But he still made no move to get out of the car.

"Want me to go in with you?" That did it. Harry opened the door and clambered out much to Sam's amusement. "Dean'll pick you up after class. Try and have fun Harry, make some friends." Sam called and Harry nodded before heading inside.

Harry stood nervously in front of the desk waiting to be noticed.

"Can I help you?" the lady finally looked up.

"Harrison Singer, I'm meant to start today?" She smiled and he relaxed.

"Here we are, any relation to Bobby Singer?"

"Yes ma'am, He's my uncle."

"Nice to see his family living closer. Here you go, everything's in order. Have a good first day."

"Thank you."

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sirius studied the house in front of him warily and then approached slowly, tail wagging as he spotted a familiar form. He barked in excitement and the teen spun around. Green eyes lit up in excitement.

"Padfoot!" harry cried, running towards him as Sirius bounded towards him, knocking him over to lick his face. "Ew! Get off mutt." Harry laughed.

"Harry?" Sirius looked up to see a young man approaching.

"Hey Sam, meet Sirius. It's okay you can change back." Harry told him. Sirius let him up and htne sat there staring at him. "Do I need to threaten a trip to the vet?" Sirius yelped and changed back, Sam watching in awe. "Sam this is my godfather, Sirius Black."

"Nice to meet you." Sam extended his hand and Sirius automatically shook.

"Pup what?" Harry laughed at his confusion.

"Sam's my cousin. His Dad is Mum's older half-brother. I found them thanks to the joint subject project last year."

"You do realise the ruckus you've caused back home right?" Sirius asked and Harry grinned.

"Well I am the son of a Marauder.

TBC...


	11. 11

John studied the man Harry had sent for as a tutor. Even in America they'd heard about Sirius Black and to find out he was his nephew's godfather and a wizard? He didn't know how to feel about it even with Harry's assurances that Black was innocent. He trusted Bobby to watch over his nephew though and that would have to do. He'd picked up the demon's trail again and needed to go. He smiled as he watched Harry and Sam gang up on Dean, his eldest going down under the combined assault.

"Thank you." John looked at the wizard who had spoken and arched an eyebrow. "I've never seen Harry so...free. Back in England everyone looks at him like a saviour for the most part, though thanks to the Ministry that's changing. They don't want to admit Voldemort's back so they're trying to discredit Harry and Dumbledore. Better he's away from all that and getting the chance to just be a kid for a while." Sirius explained and John nodded.

"Why Harry?" John finally asked the question that had been plaguing him since he'd learnt the truth of Lily's death and Sirius looked down.

"I don't it all but...shortly after Harry was born a prophecy was made. I don't know what it says; only the ones a prophecy is about can remove it from the Hall of Prophecies inside the Department of Mysteries. I know Dumbledore is the one it was given too and that Voldemort knows part of it due to a spy. All I know is that it spoke of a child born at the end of the seventh month that would be a threat to Voldemort and that it could have been Harry or one of his classmates. Sooner or later Harry will face Voldemort again, he has no choice. Prophecy can't be thwarted, it can be delayed but sooner or later it must be fulfilled." Sirius explained sadly, staring out at where the boys were fooling around although John could see they were still teaching Harry even while having fun.

"You're telling me my nephew has to face that...thing again? It nearly killed him Black!" John growled and Sirius' eyes went wide.

"You've seen...."

"After we found out Harry was a wizard he did something with a bowl and this silvery liquid." John said and Sirius nodded thoughtfully.

"A pensieve, I remember Harry saying he's viewed one before. Didn't know he knew how to make one. So how much did he show you?"

"His life." John answered and Sirius stared in shock. "What?"

"Harry....he...." Sirius stuttered out and then took a deep breath. "Harry guards his privacy jealously. Not even Ron and Hermione know much about his life before Hogwarts and they're his best friends. He must trust you a lot." Sirius admitted and John could hear the pain in his voice.

"I think it was more he wanted us to understand...we're hunters Black, we hunt down and stop anything that threatens people and in doing that we've run into a few witches. Every one of them made a deal with evil for their power so you can imagine our reactions to Harry using magic." John admitted and Sirius growled, sounding a lot like the big black dog he'd shown up as. "Sam accepted he was different pretty much right away, Dean by the next morning but...those boys are all I have left, I have to protect them."

"So Harry showed you to prove he wasn't evil. Sounds like him. I know you don't trust me but Harry is all I have left really, other than Remus. Anyone wanting to hurt him has to get through me." Sirius swore and John nodded grudgingly.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You're leaving." John spun around at the quiet words to see Harry hovering in the doorway. He sighed and motioned for the kid to come into the room which he did.

"I've got a trail Harry, if I can kill this demon..." John trailed off not sure how to explain but Harry nodded and John realised Harry probably understood better than most.

"You're not telling Dean and Sam? They're going to be mad if they find you gone."

"I know but I can't risk them on this. If I tell them it'll just lead to a fight." John said and Harry smiled.

"And then they'll follow you no matter what you say." He finished for John.

"No what it's like huh?"

"Ron and Hermione." Harry stated and John grinned.

"You look after yourself Harry, keep up your training and listen to your cousins and godfather."

"I will." Harry promised before lunging in to hug John. He froze for a second before holding the teen tightly. "You better come back alive." Harry muttered and John smiled.

"I promise to do my best. Off to bed now Harry." John gave him a small push towards the door, watching the teen walk away. Harry paused in the doorway, turning to stare at John and he realised his nephew was trying to memorise him. Once Harry was gone he gathered his things and headed for his truck. He frowned at the bag already in there but there was a note pinned to the top.

John,

Harry had the feeling you were leaving. Bags full of healing supplies able to be used by muggles plus instructions. The mirror is a two way communications device. I have one and Harry will have his by Christmas. Just say the person's name to activate. Don't make Harry mourn more family.

Padfoot.

John shook his head in amusement at Harry's actions. He was grateful for the supplies though.

 

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Harry watched the Impala disappear, fighting the feeling of abandonment as Bobby lay a hand on his shoulder.

"They'll be back for you kid. Family's everything to a Winchester. But they were right, you need to finish school and you aren't ready for hunting." Bobby told him gruffly and Harry nodded absently. Sirius had gone back to England for a week so it was just him and Bobby now.

"I know." Harry answered and then gave a small smile. "Guess I know how my friends feel when I try to leave them behind." That made Bobby chuckle.

"Come on, you have homework to do and I'd like some more info on that ritual used to bring Voldemort back, see if I can find something to counter it." Bobby offered and Harry grinned, heading inside to finish his English essay. Bobby sighed and looked back down the road, wanting to knock some sense into a certain older Winchester's head. The kid was not one to take being left behind well and Bobby knew that if word reached them about things in England going bad he wasn't enough to keep Harry in the States.

 

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Bobby bolted towards Harry's room as the screams grew in volume, shotgun ready to fire. What he found had him dropping the gun and rushing to the bed where Harry was convulsing and trying to claw at his face. He pinned the kid's hands, staring in horror at the blood pouring from a scar that looked like a new wound and not the fourteen year old injury it was.

"Harry! Wake up kid!" He shouted but Harry couldn't hear him. He held Harry, calling to him as the boy writhed on the bed until suddenly going limp. If it weren't for the fact he was panting Bobby would have checked for a pulse. Emerald eyes slowly opened and then Harry was rolling to his side to be sick over the edge of the bed. "Harry?" Bobby called again, relieved when Harry focused on him. "What happened?" He demanded urgently.

"Got him." Harry managed to choke out and Bobby looked around, grabbing the half empty bottle of water from Harry's desk and helping the kid drink.

"Harry?"

"He's got Sirius. I have to go." Harry answered, tumbling out of bed to grab his things, shoving them into his bag. Bobby grabbed his arm to stop.

"Harry slow down and think for a moment. Rushing off'll just get you killed."

"I don't care! I won't let Sirius die like... I won't!" With that Harry bolted past him, Bobby hot on his heels the hunter stopped as Harry vanished several feet into his yard, swearing loudly about idiot Winchesters cause name or not the kid was a Winchester through and through.

 

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"John, Bobby. Harry's gone. I tried to stop him but all he said was something about him having Sirius. Let me know if you hear from the kid."

"Dean, Bobby. Harry's gone. I told you idjits not to go but...I know it's not your fault so ignore the last part. All I know is it has something to do with Sirius. Let me know if you hear from him."

 

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"No, no, no, it's our dad. It's our dad!" Dean argued and the approaching nurse left them alone.

"Okay, let's try again –- an amp of atropine." The doctor ordered and Sam clung to Dean, neither noticing the dark haired figure watching them from down the hall.

"Come on." They watched tearfully as the doctor tried several more times to revive the fallen man.

"Okay. Stop compression." The Doctor ordered and Dean shut his eyes.

"Come on, come on." Dean begged and Sam choked on a sob.

"Still no pulse." A nurse announced as John flat lined.

"Okay, that's it, everybody. I'll call it. Time of death –- 10:41 AM." The doctor called and down the hall a small sob was heard as a teen vanished from the hospital.

TBC...


	12. 12

Harry studied the area he had apparated to curiously. The sword of Gryffindor a comforting invisible weight against his back and his wand in its wrist holster as he scanned the area for the person he was seeking along with any possible threats. Hearing the sounds of fighting coming from the warehouse up ahead he slipped into the shadows and made his way over silently. Part of him absently wondered if his family would even recognise him anymore after two years of constant war as he slipped unseen into the warehouse. What he saw made his blood run cold. Sam was tied to a chair, barely conscious as what had to be demons mocked and hit him. With a thought he had wand and sword in hand and was moving towards the demons, magic flaring around him. The first demon looked up only to have the centuries old magical blade sever its vocal chords and then remove its head.

"Now that I have your attention." Harry stated calmly as the other four demons stared at him in shock. In his chair Sam's eyelids fluttered as he tried to focus but his head was pounding in rhythm to his heartbeat and he slipped into unconsciousness.

Harry flung a cutting curse at one demon even as his sword gutted another. He knew that he was also harming the bodies they were using but he knew they were already dead so he didn't feel bad about going all out on them. All he could do for those poor people was ensuring their bodies would no longer be used to harm others. He winced as one landed a hit, feeling a rib cave under the blow but he pushed the pain away and focused on the fight. Ten minutes later he was the only one standing, after all Sam was sitting, well slouching in his chair really. Harry resheathed his sword and wand and then closed his eyes, slowing his breathing as he focused his magic inward, healing his ribs and then the scattered cuts and bruises he had gained in the fight. When he opened his eyes again they seemed to almost glow for a second before he shook his head and moved over to his cousin.

Harry stared at Sam for a second, taking in the changes time had made to his cousin before untying him with a flick of his wrist. Without the ropes Sam slumped forward and Harry had to grab him before he could hit the ground. Harry checked him over for injuries but there was nothing too bad so he levitated Sam's body and floated him out of the warehouse. He found the Impala parked nearby so he put Sam inside and then got in to drive, thankful he had taken the time to get driving lessons back home, so all he had to do was remember to drive on the opposite side of the road. A search of Sam's pockets revealed a motel room key so he turned the car around and headed into town, looking for the right motel. Finding it he parked and went to Sam's room, opening the door and checking for danger before working to get Sam inside, not an easy task since he had to look normal while doing so in case there were any cameras or people nearby. He poured a few potions down Sam's throat and then rubbed a bruise salve on after the embarrassment of having to strip his cousin had worn off.

Once sure that Sam would be okay he quickly resized his bag and changed into clean clothes before slipping from the room to do some shopping, shaking his head at the lack of food. What was Sam doing alone and trying to either starve himself or get killed by demons? Where was Dean?

 

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Sam lay still as he woke, trying to figure out what had happened. The last thing he remembered was being tied to a chair and being used as a punching bag for a group of demons. But he didn't hurt anymore, he was lying down and he could smell food cooking. Cracking an eye open he was surprised to see what appeared to be his motel room. Peering around slowly he caught sight of a male figure cooking in the small kitchen area. He couldn't see much, just shoulder length dark hair, black jeans and a grey top. Moving slowly he reached under his pillow for Dean's knife and grasped it only to freeze as the person turned and he found himself staring into brilliant green eyes.

"You're finally awake!"

"Who...Harry!" Sam sat up as it hit him exactly who was in the room. He was answered with an embarrassed grin from his cousin. Harry moved over to sit on the edge of the bed and Sam studied the teenager closely. The kid had grown so he was probably close to five ten or eleven and he wasn't wearing the familiar glasses, not to mention he had filled out a bit since Sam had last seen him. The scar that had once been so obvious was now just a thin line on his forehead. "Is it really you?" Sam whispered, everyone else was dead so it was possible Harry was to. His cousin frowned.

"What do you mean Sam? Look I know I just sort of left without a word but I had to! And I know it's been a while but it was too dangerous to try and send word. I couldn't risk leading the Death Eaters to you guys. I didn't mean to be gone for years, promise." Harry explained and Sam just stared at him, bewildered.

"Chrsito." He whispered but there was no reaction except a small smile and eye roll from Harry.

"Not a demon though considering I found you with some I suppose it's a good thing you checked." Harry said and Sam lunged, pulling the teen into a tight hug. Harry tensed for a second before wrapping his arms around Sam. "It's okay Sam, not leaving again." He promised. And he had no plans to ever leave his family again. Three weeks ago he couldn't have made that promise but now? Now he had no reason to go back to England, not after Blaise had....he shoved that thought aside. Sam was obviously upset enough without knowing what had happened to Harry.

"Harry...you grew up." Sam commented as they separated and Harry shrugged.

"I'm seventeen now Sam, I'd hope I've grown a bit." Harry answered and Sam frowned, reaching out to trace a scar.

"It's more than that." He pushed and Harry looked away. "Harry."

"War isn't exactly nice Sam. Yeah I've got a few new scars and I can fight a lot better than I could when I saw you last time but it hasn't been all bad." He admitted softly and Sam winced.

"Why did you leave?" He asked, needing to know why Harry had left without a word.

"I had a vision. Voldemort had Sirius...it was a trap. Sirius died and I came back as soon as I could but...I know Uncle John's dead, I was there. I should have let you know but....I'd just lost Sirius and you and Dean looked so torn up...I just had to get out." Harry explained haltingly and Sam closed his eyes in pain, though at least that was one less death he had to break the news about.

"I'm sorry Harry; I know how much Sirius meant to you. I wish you'd let us know you were there...but I understand why you didn't." Sam finally told him and Harry relaxed a bit. "So war...does that mean, since you're back?"

"Voldemort's dead, permanently this time." Was the curt response and Sam didn't push. "So what's been going on here? Where's Dean?" Harry asked and then grabbed Sam as he paled, closing his eyes again. "Sam! Answer me please!" Harry yelled but Sam didn't respond, locked in his own pain over what he saw as his failure. Grumbling under his breath Harry pushed Sam back against the headboard and then slapped his face. Hazel eyes shot open and Sam raised an arm to defend himself only to find concerned green eyes locked on him. "Back with me cousin?" Harry asked and Sam nodded. "What happened?" Harry asked nervously and Sam sighed.

"Dean's dead." Sam whispered and Harry froze. Dean? No he couldn't be dead.

"How?" Harry choked out and haunted hazel eyes met his.

"He sold his soul to bring me back. I should be dead, not him." Sam answered and Harry pulled him into a hug, practically able to feel Sam's pain. He knew what that sort of gilt was like, Cedric, Sirius, Tonks...all the people who had died because they were in the way or he'd screwed up.

"It's not your fault Sam, Dean chose to do it." Harry whispered the same words that had been spoken to him a hundred times and he doubted Sam believed them anymore than he did. "Come on, you need to eat." He took Sam's hand and tugged lightly, grateful when Sam stumbled to his feet and followed him over to the table. He knew enough for now, no need to make Sam relive such painful memories yet. Maybe he could call Bobby for the rest or even pop in on him while Sam was asleep.

 

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Bobby grabbed his shotgun as a small pop sounded in the yard. He tensed and then looked out when he heard approaching footsteps only to frown at the young man heading for his door. He opened it before his guest could knock and then nearly dropped the shotgun as he realised who was standing in front of him.

"Hey Mr. Singer, mind if I come in?" Harry Potter asked and Bobby nodded, lowering the gun.

"Shit kid, I was starting to think you were dead after you ran off. Nearly two years and not a word!" Bobby exclaimed and Harry ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"Sorry about that but it was too risky. Anyway I'm back now, wars over and the first thing I had to do upon hitting America was save Sam from a bunch of demons. He's too messed up to go over what I missed so....what'd I miss?" Harry asked and then took a step backwards as Bobby glared at him. "What? Look, I know...about Uncle John, I was actually there for the doctors trying to revive him and Sam managed to tell me Dean's dead and he is blaming himself so can I get the big story please so I know how to help Sam?" Bobby just stared at the teen in shock. All timidness was gone from the kid, but he wasn't really a kid anymore was he? Bobby could see it in his eyes and stance, he'd seen battle now.

"First thing first." Bobby filled a shot glass and handed it over. Harry smiled but drank the contents without reacting and Bobby relaxed, waving Harry over to the couch. "You've missed a lot. Speaking of Sam, where is he?"

"Boulder, Colorado and currently fast asleep. I apparated over, figured it'd be better to talk in person than over the phone."

"Yeah. So you know about John...things started going downhill after that. Did you know about well Sam?"

"What about him? Is he okay, I didn't think he was sick or something?"

"No, nothing like that. I really shouldn't be the one to tell you this but well you are a Wizard yourself so I guess you won't be one to go off about it."

"Just spit it out already!" Harry growled and Bobby sighed.

"The demon that killed you Aunt...it was there for Sam and he wasn't the only one. It went after a lot of kids on their sixth month birthday. Turns out all the kids were psychic; Sam had visions of things connected to the other kids and the demon. They started fully just after you left. By following his visions Sam and Dean met a few of the kids and...the demon managed to get to a lot of them. They met up with John, went after and managed to get a gun that can kill demons and then went after the demon, except it laid a trap with some help. John got caught and possessed, nearly killed Dean. Then the Impala was hit side on by a truck and Dean ended up in a coma. Suddenly Dean woke up and a few minutes later John was dead and the colt gone. Guess you popped in at some point?"

"Into a janitor's closet at the hospital. Didn't know why they were there and then I saw Sam and Dean standing in a doorway and the doctors working on Uncle John...I stayed till they gave the time of death and then went back to London."

"Why did you go to the hospital?" Bobby asked and Harry bit his lip.

"Remember the vision I had? It was a trap, they didn't have Sirius, they wanted me. Sirius was part of the rescue party and...I watched him die at the hand of his own psychotic cousin. I came back when it got too much, people yelling and arguing over what to do...wanting me back at my Aunts...stuff like that but when I heard...they had enough to deal with without my stuff on top of it. Then everything went to hell and I couldn't get away again." Harry explained and Bobby nodded.

"They wouldn't have cared Harry; you scared them with your disappearing act and then no word. I know Dean was wondering if you were...well, dead."

"I didn't mean too, honest."

"I know kid. Well, after John died they kept hunting and running into more demons and then bout a year later Sam vanished. Turns out the demon took him and the other kids to an old ghost town called Cold Oak, wanted to thin them out and find the best. Came down to Sam and a guy named Jake, they were fighting when we turned up. Sam knocked Jake out and heard Dean calling, started towards us and then...Jake stabbed him in the back, severed his spine. Sam died in Dean's arms." Bobby stopped as he saw the tears gathering in Harry's eyes.

"Tell me this Jake is dead." He bit out and Bobby nodded.

"He was killed a few days later, by Sam. I left Dean alone with Sam's body...boy was inconsolable so I figured he could use the time alone. Except he took off for the nearest crossroads and made a deal, his soul and one year to live in exchange for Sam being alive. Nearly gave me a heart attack when they showed up." Bobby explained and Harry chuckled.

"What? Didn't try to shoot them?" He teased bravely and Bobby grinned, shaking his head.

"Tracked Jake to an old cowboy cemetery with a Devil's Gate in it. Know what that is?"

"No but I can take a pretty good guess. Some sort of door to hell?" Harry aksed and Bobby nodded.

"Jake used the Colt to open and then Sam shot him but it was too late. We tried to close it while your cousins ended up facing the demon. Dean eventually managed to shoot it so it's dead but a lot of demons got free while the gate was open. Sam found out about his death and Dean's deal, spent every free moment trying to find a way to break it....we failed. Lilith is the demon that held his deal, we tried to take her out and failed, Dean was killed by her hellhounds and Sam...haven't seen the kid in over a month." Bobby finished the brief over view and Harry looked away, trying to hide his tears. He couldn't believe Dean was dead and in hell. Maybe he could throw a few taunts Tom's way to make his time there better.

"What happens to a soul in hell Bobby?" Harry asked softly and the old hunter shrugged.

"Honestly kid, no one knows for sure except the demons." He answered and harry looked at him, tears silently falling. Bobby sighed and reached out to hug the teen, not something he usually did but the boy needed it. Harry pulled back eventually with a blush but managed a shaky smile.

"Thanks Bobby, sorry for getting your shirt wet."

"Better tears than blood. You bring that idjit cousin of yours around for a visit, you hear?"

"I'll try. Get the feeling we both got the stubborn genes though, I'll make him at least call even if I have to glue the phone to his ear." Harry promised as he stood. He gave Bobby one last smile and then scared the hunter by apparating out of the room, making him grumble about finding new ways to ward the place against cheeky wizards.

Harry reappeared in the motel to find Sam still out for the count and decided it was about time he got some sleep himself.

TBC...


	13. 13

Sam woke up and looked around, seeing Harry asleep on the second bed. He smiled slightly at the sight and wished Dean could know that their cousin was still very much alive even if he had changed a lot. Though Sam guessed war would do that to you, he knew he'd changed after Jess' death, then Dad's and finally Dean's. How many people had Harry seen killed? Moving quietly he slipped out of bed and headed for the shower only to stop and stare at Harry's gear. He frowned as he saw the sword inside its scabbard, didn't it take years to learn how to use one properly but then he remembered Harry showing them the Chamber of Secrets and realised it was the same sword. He shook his head and finished the walk to the bathroom, deciding he might as well have a shower while he was in there. He came out to find Harry thrashing on his bed and several small objects shaking where they sat. Sam hesitated for a second and then slowly made his way towards Harry.

"Harry? It's Sam, you're okay. You need to wake up now." He called softly as he approached, not wanting to startle the younger male. Larger objects were beginning to shake and Sam knew he had to wake Harry up fast. He made it to the bed and sat beside Harry, reaching out to grasp Harry's shoulders. "Harry your dreaming, wake up!" he called forcefully and emerald eyes snapped open and then Sam felt as if he was flying for a second before his head collided with something hard and everything went black.

Sam moaned slightly and tried to open his eyes. He could hear someone talking softly nearby and there was a cold cloth on his forehead. He took a deep breath and forced his eyes open to see Harry sitting on the edge of the bed, pale and timid in a way Sam hadn't seen since shortly after Harry had learnt about the family business.

"Harry?" he croaked out and Harry handed him a glass of water without actually looking at him. Sam frowned, trying to remember what happened and then he sighed. "I'm okay." He said to reassure his cousin.

"I'm sorry." Harry whispered sadly and Sam stretched out an arm to grab his hand.

"It's fine Harry, I know you didn't mean to." Sam answered and Harry slowly looked at him. Sam smiled at him and was happy to see the fear leaving Harry's eyes. "How long was I out?"

"Not long. I kind of forced a healing potion down your throat to speed things up." Harry admitted and Sam nodded, hiding a wince at the fading pain in his head as he slowly sat up. "I should go." Harry whispered and Sam froze.

"Go where?" He asked and Harry shrugged. "You're not going anywhere without me Harry. You're all the family I have left and I am not losing you again." Sam stated forcefully and Harry stared at him in shock.

"But."

"No Harry. Family sticks together. I....since Dean....I know I'm a mess Harry, you don't deserve to get saddled with me but I...I need you kiddo." Sam finished in a whisper and then he had his arms full of his cousin. They clung to each other, both broken in different ways but maybe together they could start to heal?

 

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"Hello?"

"Hey Bobby." Sam's greeting was met by silence for a bit.

"Sam? Bout time you called boy, if Harry hadn't come by to let me know you were okay..." Bobby trailed off and Sam laughed sheepishly.

"He kind of...threatened to stick the phone to my ear if I didn't call. I'm sorry Bobby, I just...."

"I get it Sam, just glad to know you're still alive. Think you and Harry'll be headed my way anytime soon?"

"Not sure, there's a gig in LA we're looking at." Sam paused and shook his head. "Never thought I'd be talking about taking Harry on a hunt, hell even Dad was just trying to make sure he could defend himself, not turn him into a hunter."

"That was before Harry went to war." Bobby pointed out and Sam sighed.

"I know. He's...different Bobby. I just wish....it's not fair that he had to go through that."

"We both know. Just be there for him Sam, he'll open up to you eventually."

"Or accidentally throw me across the room again." Sam chuckled and heard Bobby gasp.

"He what!"

"Relax, it was an accident, he was having a nightmare and I tried to wake him. We're sharing a bed now so he's more used to me and doesn't react so violently to be woken. He went through a war Bobby; it's not surprising he reacted like that."

"Yeah. You keep an eye on him; make sure he's handling it. And keep both of you alive."

"Will do. Bye Bobby."

 

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Sam grumbled good naturedly as Harry laughed his head off. It was good to see Harry laughing so freely so Sam didn't really mind being the cause but if he didn't get clean soon he was going to stink forever! It was so not his fault he'd landed in a freaking swamp! It was all the fault of that freaky pissed off spirit. He was lucky Harry was with him or else he would have drowned, thankfully the same magic that had sent him into a wall several weeks before had yanked him from the swamp. They staggered into their motel room and Sam headed straight for the shower while Harry started on dinner. Sam was glad for the break from microwave meals and diner food. By the time he'd finally gotten all the swamp goo off Harry had dinner ready and they sat down to watch a movie and eat.

It was amazing really how quickly they'd fallen into a routine but it had happened without either of them noticing and it felt...nice. Not quite as effortless as things had been with Dean but Harry...the wizard was perceptive and knew when Sam needed his space and when he needed to laugh. He'd also thrown a pretty nice stunner the one time Sam had gotten depressed enough to try and make a deal to bring Dean back. He hadn't realised Harry knew such...colourful language until his cousin had revived him and given him the verbal lashing of the century. Harry hadn't let him out of sight for a week after that stunt and Sam was actually grateful for that.

Harry was a great fighter now which had come in handy the two times they'd run into a group of demons. And his sword....it was just as useful as Ruby's knife which Sam still had so between the two of them demons weren't actually much of a problem. It was kind of sad to see Harry fighting the way he did, he'd hoped Harry would be able to retain some sort of innocence but it was pretty obvious the war had stripped that from him. Harry still hadn't said much about his time in England and that worried Sam but then again he really wasn't that much better so he didn't really have the right to say anything.

 

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"Ruby?" Sam asked in shock and the demon smirked.

"Who else. Who's the kid?" She asked and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Like I haven't heard that a million times. Harry Potter." He answered and Ruby's eyes went wide.

"So this is where the precious saviour vanished too. Know who you're hunting with Sam?" She pushed and Sam nodded.

"My cousin. What do you want Ruby?" He asked tiredly, the day had been going well till now. Harry shifted beside him and Sam could feel the warm rush of Harry's magic surrounding and protecting them.

"Just to keep you alive, kill Lilith, the usual." She answered and Harry's eyes narrowed, making Sam tense. One thing he'd learnt about Harry, his instincts were very rarely wrong and if he seemed to think Ruby's answer was off then it probably was. Yeah, she'd saved his life before but she'd also led him on about being able to save Dean and if it came to it, he'd trust Harry over her in a heartbeat.

"And we're supposed to trust a demon?" Harry asked tightly and she smirked at him.

"And a wizards so much better? I've heard all about Gryffindor's Heir and what you did in the war. Does Sam know?"

"No and I don't need to. Leave Harry alone Ruby. Just get out of here, we don't need you." Sam angrily got between them, not liking the way she was attacking Harry. He'd heard Harry's nightmares, he didn't need to know and he wouldn't judge what Harry had done. Ruby's smirk turned to a look of rage and she lunged at Harry, eyes black. Harry reacted instinctively, sword appearing in his hand and right through Ruby's chest. She gasped and the black faded from her eyes as Harry removed the blade from the now dead body.

"Harry? Are you okay?" Sam asked and his cousin nodded shakily.

"I'm okay Sam." Suddenly his eyes went wide. "You're bleeding! I'm so sorry!" Harry babbled and Sam suddenly realised that his arm was hurting; Harry must have nicked him with the blade when he'd shoved Sam out of the way. The world suddenly span and Sam found himself on the ground, Harry keeping his head from hitting the ground.

"Harry?" He whispered and Harry swallowed.

"You're going to be okay Sam, just stay awake." Harry begged and Sam gasped as he felt something flowing through him. It was Harry's magic, warm and comforting, and he knew Harry was healing the wound. The flow of warm energy was so comforting Sam had to struggle to keep his eyes open, a battle he slowly lost. "I've got you Sam." Was the last thing he heard as darkness claimed him.

Harry stared down at Sam, fighting tears. He'd come so close to losing the only family he had left and it was his own fault, he should have made sure Sam was out of range before summoning his sword to his hand. He'd seen the painful death the blade gave to humans; he couldn't have lived with himself if Sam had died from the wound. The sword had been forged in the days when wizards still believed in and fought demons, magic had been poured into it during it's making and then it had been soaked in basilisk venom only a few years ago when Harry had killed the one in the Chamber. He'd never cleaned the blade and so the venom had sunk into it, making even a scratch deadly to anyone but him. In saving Sam he'd been counting on the blood that bound them as family, sure it was from the wrong side of the family for the blade to react to Sam but it had been enough for Harry to force the blades wound to heal. He couldn't do anything about the scar it had left behind though.

Harry lowered Sam's head to the ground and walked over to the dead woman Ruby had been possessing. He felt a flash of guilt over killing her, he'd known she was alive when he'd attacked but he'd seen his death in Ruby's eyes and had reacted accordingly. Sighing he raised his hand and sent out a tendril of magic. The body was soon reduced to ash under the heat of magical fire and he returned to Sam's side, apparating them back to their room and then settling Sam into bed before crawling in next to him and curling up around him.

TBC...


	14. 14

Sam woke slowly, his thoughts muddled, and his body to warm and content to move. Hazel eyes slowly opened and he frowned upon finding himself completely wrapped up in Harry's embrace. He tried to think of what had happened and gradually the memories came back, Ruby showing up, taunting Harry, Harry's sword appearing in his hand and then in Ruby's body...then pain and a warm comforting power moving through him. He'd been nicked by Harry's sword and obviously it wasn't a normal blade if it could kill demons just like Ruby's knife but Sam wasn't a demon so it had to have something about it that harmed humans too, or was it his demonic blood it had reacted to?

Sam was lost in thought so he didn't notice when emerald eyes flickered open, their owner closing them again in relief at seeing Sam awake. Harry opened his eyes again and tightened his grip in a brief hug.

"How do you feel?" He whispered when Sam looked at him.

"Okay, a little confused about what happened though." Sam admitted and smiled as Harry relaxed.

"Well, Ruby's dead. Hope you didn't really like her or something but she lunged and I reacted...." Harry trailed off and Sam nodded, he knew that Ruby had sealed her fate by attacking Harry. The fact that she had proved she'd never really been an ally. "You were too close, I didn't have enough control of the blade's angle and it hit you as well." Harry got out of bed and went to where he'd put his things. When he came back he was carrying the sheathed sword. Harry sat on the bed and Sam pushed himself into a sitting position next to him. "The Sword of Gryffindor, one of the oldest magical weapons left to my people. It's a magically forged blade from a time when Wizards still admitted demons existed, and fought them. Godric Gryffindor was not just one of the founders of Hogwarts but a warrior and he occasionally came up against demons. The goblins helped him make this sword to kill them. Shortly after his death it as believed lost."

"You pulled it from the Sorting Hat in your second year." Sam stated and Harry nodded.

"I used it to kill the basilisk and the blade was never cleaned after that, leaving the snakes venom and blood to seep into it. The blade...it was forged for Gryffindor so he or a descendant can wield it and wounds made by the blade, they don't heal easily if at all. If anyone tried to use the sword against me it won't work and I'm immune to basilisk venom now, most poisons actually so it's no danger to me but anyone else..."

"I should be dead." Sam whispered in shock and Harry nodded, eyes downcast. "Then how?"

"You may not be a Gryffindor but you're family, that was enough for me to force the blade to allow the wound to be healed when my magic was added and I...I cut my hand, let some of the blood hit the wound. Since my immunity is in my blood the magic took that and stoped the venom. I don't know if you'll gain any immunity permanently though." Harry explained and Sam swallowed. What was it with him and people giving him their blood? Though better Harry's than Azazel's.

"Thank you."

"For what? You wouldn't have needed healing in the first place if it wasn't for me." Harry snorted and Sam shrugged.

"Without you I'd have been dead or made a deal or even me listening to whatever Ruby said by now. I'll take a near fatal wound which you healed over that any day." Sam told him and Harry finally looked up to see Sam smiling at him and he smiled back. Sam took a deep breath, Harry deserved to hear what Sam was if he was going to stick around. "There's something you need to know...about me." Sam hesitated and Harry put a comforting hand on his.

"Bobby kind of let slip about the whole visions thing." Harry told him and Sam nodded, that'd make it easier.

"The visions were caused by the demon we were after, found out later it's name was Azazel. It wanted a general for its army, one that couldn't be stopped by the things that would stop a demon. It went after babies and...and it fed them it's blood. I have demon blood in my Harry."

"And I had a piece of Voldemort's soul inside of me for seventeen years. It doesn't matter Sam, blood doesn't make you who you are." Harry answered sternly and Sam felt something inside of him relax. He didn't know what he would have done if Harry had turned against him because of his blood. But what had...

"You had a piece of his soul in you!" Sam's eyes were wide with shock and worry as he looked Harry over. "It's gone now? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Sam. Tom was...obsessed with gaining immortality and he found a way. It's some of the blackest magic. He split his soul and put the pieces in objects, like the diary from second year. When he tried to kill me and failed I became his final, living horcrux, the first one ever created. It's why I could speak parseltongue and why we were linked." Harry explained quietly.

"How...how was it removed?" Sam asked and harry looked down.

"I died. I knew as long as I lived Riddle couldn't be destroyed so after destroying all the other horcruxes I let him kill me. I knew that once mortal anyone else could kill him but something happened...I was given a choice, to move on and be with my parents and everyone else I'd lost or to come back and finish what I'd started. Obviously I took the second choice. Never seen Tom look so shocked as when I got up again after being confirmed dead. I killed him after that." Sam stared in shock as Harry fell silent. Harry had died? He reached out and pulled Harry into his arms, reassuring himself that yes, his cousin was very much alive. "I'm okay Sam." Harry whispered, knowing why Sam was clinging to him so tightly. Sam eventually let go and they let the conversation stay dead, Sam knew he still didn't know most of what had happened to Harry over the last two years but he also knew better than to push harry to tell him.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Happy Birthday!" Sam cheered and Harry nearly hexed him on reflex before he realised it was Sam. Harry smiled at his cousin and the small cake with candles he was holding. His last birthday with his Winchester family had been the best and now he was sharing his eighteenth with Sam. He still wore the necklace and ring they'd given him two years ago. He got up and hugged Sam who hugged him back, being mindful of the cake. "So how's it feel to be eighteen?"

"No different to seventeen. Seventeen's the big one in the wizarding world, it's when we legally become adults. I spent it on a moor somewhere trying not to freeze to death." Harry said and Sam smiled.

"Well at least your nice and warm this year. Come on, cake and presents." Sam pointed to the table where two small wrapped bundles lay.

"You didn't have to do this Sam." Harry argued and Sam shrugged.

"I wanted to. The second one...it's from Dean. He bought it few months after you left." Sam explained and Harry slowly opened it, smiling at the books on strategy and weapons maintenance. "He was planning to teach you to shoot." Sam said quietly and Harry smiled. He then took Sam's gift and opened it to find a mixture of crystals, a gift certificate for an online bookstore and a leather bracelet. He looked at Sam. "I saw those crystals mentioned in one of your books, they're meant to be good for helping with wards or something. The bracelet has an anti-possession charm and a few protections woven into it. You can get the charm turned into a tattoo, it's actually safer, if you want but I wasn't sure."

"I love them, thanks. And yeah, I guess another tattoo won't hurt."

"You have a tattoo!"

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry sheathed his sword and looked around at the carnage with a small grimace, just because he was used to seeing bodies didn't mean he liked to. He tensed and then relaxed as Sam approached, Ruby's knife in his hand.

"Is it just me or are they getting more desperate seeming?" Harry asked and his cousin nodded.

"It's almost like they know something we don't."

"Oh joy." Harry grumbled, absently rubbing his finger. For just a second Sam could have sworn he saw a ring there but then it was gone. He shook it off and cleaned his knife before putting it in his belt.

"Come on we need to clean this up and hit the road." Sam called, grabbing a container of salt. Harry nodded and pulled out his wand, using magic to pile the bodies together and then light the fire once Sam had salted them.

"So where are we headed?" Harry asked as they left, grimacing at the blood on his shirt.

"East. The rest of this group lit out of here fast and they're our best lead on Lilith."

"Can we at least shower first?" Harry whined just to make Sam smile.

"Nope."

"Prat." Harry grumbled and Sam laughed.

"Oh come on, just use one of those cleaning charms of yours and no blood on the upholstery." Sam teased and Harry gave up faking and laughed too. Sam had started laughing a lot more in the last month and Harry was glad his cousin was beginning to heal from Dean's death.

 

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"We're sorry, you have reached a number that has been disconnected-" Shaking hands hung up the phone and then dialled another number which thankfully rang.

"Yeah." A familiar gruff voice said and he relaxed in the phone booth.

"Bobby?" He greeted in relief.

"Yeah?" there seemed to be no recognition in Bobby's voice which puzzled him.

"It's me." He answered.

"Who's 'me'?" Bobby asked, starting to sound annoyed.

"Dean." He answered and then he frowned as he heard Bobby hang up. He redialled the number.

"Who is this?" Bobby demanded angrily.

"Bobby listen to me-" Dean tried but the other hunter curt him off.

"This ain't funny, call again and I'll kill you-" Bobby hung up and stared at his phone in anger. How dare someone call him saying that! He glanced at the phone again, should he warn Sam and Harry? He knew they were somewhere near Pontiac...near Dean's grave. He frowned but then shook it off, he knew Harry would not let Sam do anything stupid.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a knock at the front door; Bobby walked over and opened it only to see what looked like Dean standing in front of him, smiling weakly. Bobby just stood there, staring in shock.

"Surprise." The thing spoke and Bobby slowly started to back away.

"I- I don't-" He stuttered and the thing shrugged.

"Yeah, me neither." It stepped into the house and Bobby continued to back away. "But here I am." Bobby had finally backed far enough, he grabbed the silver knife off the table and sung at the creature. It deflected his attack and grabbed his hand but Bobby managed to throw it off and further into the house towards the kitchen. "Bobby! Bobby, it's me!" It pleaded and Bobby glared.

"My ass!" He shot back as he approached, knife first. The thing grabbed a nearby chair and put it between then, putting its hands up in surrender. Bobby stopped, watching it closely despite how much it hurt to hold a knife on something that looked so much like Dean.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Your name is Robert Steven Singer, you became a hunter after your wife got possessed, and you're about the closest thing I have to a father...Bobby it's me." The thing pleaded and Bobby felt his certainty waver, his eyes widening. He approached it, pushing the chair aside and reached out, it was solid beneath his hand. Bobby lunged again with the knife but it dodged, pinning his knife hand behind his back as he struggled. "Whoa! I am not a shape shifter!" It yelled as they struggled.

"Then you're a revenant." Bobby shot back angrily only to stumble as he was pushed away, his knife now in the creature's hand.

"All right, if I was either, would I do this with a silver knife?" It asked and Bobby watched as the sleeve was rolled up and the knife placed against skin. The creature flinched slightly but took a deep breath and drew the blade across the skin, drawing red human blood. Bobby stared in amazement.

"Dean?" he whispered and Dean smiled.

"That's what I been trying to tell you." He answered, putting the knife down and walking closer. They hugged tightly.

"It's- it's good to see you boy." Bobby choked out.

"Yeah, you too." Dean answered, sounding a little hoarse.

"But how did you bust out?" Bobby asked, realising there was one way and that made his blood run cold.

"I don't know, I just uh- Just woke up in a pine box- " Dean started to explain and Bobby reached out for a nearby flask, splashing its contents onto Dean's face. Dean turned his head to the side and spat the water out. "I'm not a demon either, you know." He said and Bobby shrugged.

"Sorry, can't be too careful." Bobby answered sheepishly and Dean smiled, telling Bobby everything he remembered. "That don't make a lick of sense." Bobby said when he was done.

"Yeah, you're preaching to the choir." Dean told him.

"Dean, your chest was ribbons, your insides were slop, and you've been buried four months, even if you could slip out of hell and back into your meat suit-" Bobby's words made Dean grimace.

"I know, I should look like a Thriller video reject."

"What do you remember?" Bobby pushed for answers.

"Not much, I remember I was a Hellhound's chew toy, and then lights out, then I come to six feet under, that's was it." Dean said and Bobby sat behind his desk, very confused. "Sam's number's not working, he's uh...he's not-?" Dean asked nervously and Bobby shook his head.

"Oh, he's alive, at least as of last week."

"Good...wait, last week?" Dean asked.

"He called for intel on a hunt. I haven't actually seen him since..." Bobby trailed off, knowing Dean would realise when he meant and then he froze, Dean didn't know. "He's not hunting alone though."

"Who? You let him go off with a stranger?" Dean demanded and Bobby glared.

"He was dead set on it." Bobby decided that as payback for nearly giving him a heart attack Dean could wait a bit to find out exactly who Sam was with, he needed to realise how hard things had been after his death.

"Bobby, you should have been looking after him-" Dean growled and Bobby stood to face him.

"I tried, these last month's haven't been exactly easy you know. For him or me...we had to bury you." Bobby told him.

"Why did you bury me anyway?" Dean asked, curious and Bobby shrugged.

"I wanted you salted and burned, the usual drill, but Sam wouldn't have it." Was his answer.

"Well, I'm glad he won that one." Dean shuddered slightly.

"He said you'd need a body when he got you back home somehow, that's about all he said." Bobby hated doing this but Dean needed to realise just how badly Sam had taken things.

"What do you mean?" Dean demanded.

"He was quiet...real quiet. Then, he just took off, wouldn't return my calls. I tried to find him, but he didn't want to be found."

"Aw dammit Sammy!" Dean murmured and Bobby was curious to why.

"What?" He asked.

"Oh, he got me home okay, but whatever he did it is bad mojo." Dean answered and Bobby frowned, Sam wouldn't have? Would he? No Harry would stop him, again.

"What makes you so sure?" Bobby pushed.

"You should have seen the grave site, it was like a nuke went off. Then there was this- this force, this presence, uh- I don't know but, it- it- blew past me at a fill up joint, and then this-" Dean took off his long sleeved shirt and pulled up the arm on the short sleeved shirt he'd been wearing underneath, revealing the raised burn in the shape of a hand on his left shoulder. Bobby walked over in shock.

"What in the hell?" Bobby murmured, he'd never seen anything like it.

"Yeah, it's like a demon just yanked me out, or rode me out-" Dean answered.

"But why?"

"To hold up their end of the bargain." Dean gave the obvious answer.

"You think Sam made a deal?" Bobby asked.

"It's what I would have done." Dean answered and Bobby knew it was true but...

"I don't think he did. The person he's with stopped him once already." Bobby said and Dean frowned.

"Just who is he with Bobby!" Dean demanded and Bobby sighed.

"Might want to sit down for this." Dean just stood his ground and Bobby shrugged. "Bout a month after you died I got a visitor, shocked the life out of me since I think all of us had pretty much assumed he was dead. Dean...it was Harry. He's alive and travelling with Sam." Bobby tried to say gently and Dean sank into a chair.

"Harry? The kids alive?" Dean breathed in shock. Bobby snorted.

"Kid? He's eighteen now Dean. War's over so he came back. Actually found Sam first, saved his life and then came to me looking for answers as to why Sam was hunting alone so I told him. He's the only reason I know Sam's alive, he made Sam call me the first time and now your brother's pretty good at keeping in contact. He's...he's not the kid you remember Dean, he spent two years fighting a war, fighting and watching people die. He's confident and a lot more powerful than he was but underneath he's still Harry." Bobby explained and Dean slumped in his chair, still in shock that his cousin was alive.

"Where are they Bobby?"

"Tracking a bunch of demon's last I heard, not sure exactly where now."

"Call Sam, please. I have to see them."

"Okay but stay quiet. We'll let them know you're back in person." Bobby warned and Dean nodded, seeing the reason behind Bobby's words. Bobby left the room to make the call.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Bobby's on his way. Wants to talk to us in person about something." Sam said as he hung up.

"Okay. I'm going to head out for a bit, he won't be here for a few hours right?" Harry asked as he emerged from the bathroom, still drying his hair.

"Yeah. Where are you going?"

"Need to check a few things with the goblins, won't be too long." Harry answered and Sam nodded, watching Harry get ready. "See you in a bit, call me if he gets here before me." With that Harry left the room, apparating once outside the motel. These days he warded the rooms heavily enough that he only apparated through them in an emergency.

Sam powered up his laptop and settled in to research for a while. He got lost in his work and when he looked at the clock he found several hours had passed. Feeling pretty grimy from spending so much time on the road he decided to have his shower. He was towelling his hair off when a knock sounded at the door. Harry had his own key obviously so it had to be Bobby.

"Coming." He called, grabbing his phone and sending harry a quick message saying Bobby had arrived. "Hey, is the-" Sam froze as he opened the door, staring not at Bobby but at the figure next to him.

"Hey Sammy." Dean walked into the room and Sam lunged, pulling a knife free from his belt, pinning him to the wall. "Oh ga-" Dean choked out, Sam's arm across his throat.

"Who are you?!" Sam demanded furiously and Dean stared at him. Bobby finally shook off his shock and grabbed Sam, pulling him off Dean and away. Dean rubbed his throat glaring at Sam.

"Like you didn't do this?" Dean asked, needing to know that Sam hadn't.

"Do what?!" Sam snapped back, still fighting Bobby.

"It's him, it's him Sam, I've been through this already, it's really him." Bobby assured him firmly and Sam slowly stopped struggling, breathing hard as he stared at Dean.

"But..." Sam trailed of and Dean stepped forward, smiling.

"I know, I look fantastic huh?" Dean said and Sam grabbed him in a tight hug which Dean returned just as tightly. They both looked on the verge of tears when they separated.

"Bloody hell." A soft voice came from the hall and Dean spun, eyes widening as he took in the young man standing in the doorway. "Dean?" He asked and Dean smiled, sure Harry had changed but he knew that voice and those emerald eyes even if the glasses were gone. Harry had grown and filled out since the last time Dean had seen him but it was definitely Harry.

"Hey kid." Dean called, taking a step towards him and Harry tensed, green eyes suspicious as he stared at Dean and then looked to Bobby and Sam. Sam smiled and Harry closed his eyes, making Dean frown until he felt something. He swallowed as warm power flowed over him and then Harry opened his eyes, staring in wonder at him.

"Dean." Harry whispered and then threw himself at his cousin. Dean caught him a tight hug, assuring himself that Harry was actually alive and knowing Harry was doing the same. "But how?" Harry asked when he pulled back and Dean shrugged.

"Dean thought Sam might have made a deal but..." Bobby started and Harry nodded.

"But after my reaction last time no way would he try again." Harry finished and Sam flinched guiltily.

"Lets just say Harry isn't quite so innocent anymore when it comes to language." Sam said and Dean laughed.

"So if it wasn't any of us then who?" Harry asked and they stared at each other, clueless.

TBC....


	15. 15

Dean bolted upright, gasping for air. He scrambled out of bed and into the bathroom, shutting the door quietly so the light wouldn't wake Sam or Harry. That was why he jumped as the door opened and Harry slipped inside, a worried frown on his face.

"You okay?" Harry whispered and Dean managed a nod which obviously didn't convince his cousin since he was shoved down onto the closed toilet lid and then had a cool cloth pressed to his face. The tap turned on and then Harry handed him a glass of water. "I've got some Dreamless Sleep potion if you want." That made Dean look at the floor in shame. "Dean I'd be shocked if you didn't have nightmares. Even if you don't consciously remember what happened it'll still leave its mark. Ask Sam what it's like to try and wake me up from a nightmare. Why do you think we share a bed? It's so I don't nearly kill him again. You can't just ignore them and hope they go away, sooner or later you're going to have to deal with them." Harry told him as he ran the cloth over the back of Dean's neck. He smiled as his cousin slowly began to relax, the tension and fear melting out of his body.

"When'd you get so wise?" Dean grumbled and Harry laughed softly.

"Don't know, maybe when I died." And then he froze, realising Dean didn't know about that yet. His wrist was grabbed in an iron grip as Dean stared up at him in shock.

"What?" He hissed and Harry swallowed.

"Dean calm down, I'm fine now obviously." Harry tried to reassure him but Dean had yanked him closer and was checking him over.

"What happened?" Dean's question was a bit loud and Harry slammed his free hand over his cousin's mouth.

"You'll wake Sam! This is gonna end in yelling...hang on." Harry warned and then Dean felt like he was being squeezed through a very narrow tube. He staggered and then stared, finding them somewhere he didn't recognise.

"Where?"

"Apparently Dad had a family apartment in New York. This way we can talk without waking Sam. Do you mind letting go now?" Dean slowly let go, realising that his cousin's appearance wasn't all that had changed in their time apart. Harry yanked the dustcovers off and sat down on the couch and Dean sat beside him.

"Harry...."

"Ever heard of something called a horcrux?" The teen asked and Dean shook his head. "Basically it's a way to achieve immortality but it's very Black Magic. To make a horcrux you kill someone, splitting a piece off your soul and putting it into an object for safe keeping, its how Voldemort survived the night my parents died. And it turns out its how I survived too. He...I ended up a horcrux. In order to kill him we had to destroy them all. I walked into that forest knowing I was going to die and I did. And then I was given a choice, to go and join my family or to come back and finish what I'd started. Guess it's pretty obvious which I chose." Harry told him and Dean stared in shock. When Harry had said he'd died he'd hoped he just meant something that CPR could handle but this? He stared at Harry, realising that for however long they'd both been dead poor Sam had truly had no family left alive. How close had Harry come to deciding to stay dead?

"Harry..." Dean trailed off, not sure what to say and then he pulled Harry into a hug. Harry clung to him and Dean held him tightly, not saying anything when he felt his shirt become damp.

"I didn't want to die but I couldn't let him win. I didn't want anyone else to die." Harry whispered and Dean held him tight, this was the little cousin he remembered, it was nice to know he hadn't disappeared into the war hardened veteran.

"It's okay Harry, I'm glad you're alive." Dean finally whispered and Harry sat back.

"I'm glad you're alive too. Sam really didn't make a deal. He tried once; I knocked him out and then stuck to him 24/7 for a week. I think it annoyed him but...you were dead and I didn't want to lose Sam too." Harry told him.

"I'm glad you stopped him Harry. I did what I did willingly; I would never have wanted him to take my place. Though it would be nice if we knew how and what was able to bring me back."

"There's nothing...wrong with how you came back or anything. I can feel it. You're not tied to anything or....You're back fully Dean. Just in case you were worried." Harry tried to explain and Dean remembered feeling Harry's magic wash over him when the teen had arrived.

"Thanks. You think this psychic Bobby knows will learn anything else?"

"Don't know, I don't know anything about psychics. Seers are really rare in the Wizarding World though I know a lady who's given a few true prophecies. She'll probably need something whatever it was that brought you back touched." Harry answered and Dean frowned before rolling his sleeve up.

"Like this?" He asked and Harry gasped, eyes going wide.

"Shit." Harry swore as he felt his ring warm on his hand.

"What? You know what did this?" Dean asked, worried by Harry's reaction.

"It was not a demon. It feels...pure. Like a unicorn or phoenix but a million times more powerful." Harry whispered in awe.

"So what? You're saying an angel did it?" Dean asked in disbelief only to find Harry was completely serious.

"Dean whatever it was, don't go looking for it."

\----------------------  
Sam looked from his brother to his cousin and knew something had happened while he was asleep that had Harry spooked and Dean unsure. A knock at the door let them know Bobby was up and about for the day.

"So we ready to hit the road?" The older hunter asked and Dean and Harry exchanged a look.

"Thanks Bobby but...I think we'll just leave it be for now. I'm fine and we know none of you made a deal. Why make trouble?" Dean said and Bobby's gaze sharpened.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" He asked and Harry sighed.

"Mr Singer it's okay." Harry stepped in and Sam realised this was what they had talked about during the night.

"We need to know...."

"We know enough." Harry said and Sam bit his lip, there was a tone of command in his cousin's voice the tone of someone used to giving orders and being obeyed. It would really be good to find out what had happened in England.

"Well...." Bobby seemed unsure so Sam decided to speak up.

"Bobby it's okay. You know us, we deal with things as they come." Sam said with a grin and Bobby relaxed.

"Alright. So what next?"

"Breakfast?" Dean asked hopefully, his stomach backing him up a second later.

"Sounds good to me."

\---------------------------  
"Do I get to know what happened last night?" Sam asked, twisting in his seat so he could see Dean and Harry who was in the backseat once again.

"What makes you think anything happened?" Dean asked, eyes on the road.

"Your sudden turn around on going to see Bobby's friend to start." Sam answered.

"Whatever yanked Dean out of hell left a mark on his shoulder, I got a look at it last night and it's not demonic. It's also a million times more pure and powerful than a phoenix or unicorn. So trying to track it down and possibly annoying it? Really not smart." Harry explained and Sam thought it over before nodding, it made sense to him not to annoy something that powerful without a good reason. Instead he sent up a prayer of thanks that he had his brother and cousin back safe and sound.

"Does Sam know the other thing you told me last night?" Dean asked and Harry nodded.

"He knows about the horcrux and how I got rid of it. It was an interesting chat."

"I um, told Harry about what the demon did to me." Sam said quietly and Dean nodded, hands tightening on the wheel. Pity he couldn't have dragged that things death out a bit more.

"What do you two say to a few days on a beach somewhere?" Dean suddenly asked.

"What?" Sam's eyes widened in shock.

"You heard me Sammy. We all need a break." Dean said and Harry smiled.

"I've never been to the beach before." He whispered and Sam nodded. They were going to take time as a family and just have fun together. Hunting could wait for a while.

TBC...


	16. 16

Dean smiled as he watched Sam and Harry chase each other across the sand. It was nice to see the two so relaxed and having fun for once. He was glad he'd thought of taking a brief holiday, they all needed the break. Okay so technically Dean had been dead the last four months but he had been in hell, not exactly a vacation destination. And they still didn't know what had yanked him out, other than the fact it was powerful and good, at least that was what Harry believed.

Dean was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the two sneaking up on him. He yelped as they grabbed him and dragged him towards the waves.

"Don't you dare!" He yelled as he struggled but they were both laughing and ignoring his protests. "Come one, put me down!" He yelled and then gulped at the cheeky grins the two younger men exchanged. Then they did as he asked, right into a wave he hadn't seen. Dean came up spluttering and swearing. He took off after Harry, listening to his laughing and letting it warm him.

"It's good to see him laughing." Sam whispered and Dean looked over at him.

"Good to see both of you laughing Sammy." Dean told him and Sam smiled, leaning against Dean's arm and Dean let him. He knew Sam needed to reaffirm Dean was back and after what he'd been through in hell...sometimes he needed it too.

"I'm glad you thought of this Dean. Guess we all needed a break." Sam admitted and Dean nodded as Harry made his way back over to them only to freeze and then look around. "Something's here." Sam said and they raced to the blankets for the weapons they'd brought.

Dean grabbed his gun and then his gaze went to Harry who was standing on the beach, eyes shut and his hair moving in the air around him. Dean swallowed as his sword suddenly appeared in Harry's hand.

"You get used to things like that." Sam commented, his own gun in his hands. "Harry?" He called and the teen shrugged before spinning around, sword raised defensively. All three stared at the man in a trench coat that appeared, hands raised.

"I am not here to harm you." The man said and Harry lowered his sword, backing towards his cousins.

"Harry?" Dean called.

"He's the one that pulled you from hell."Harry answered and the man nodded.

"Who or what are you?" Dean demanded and them man looked at him.

"I am Castiel, an Angel of the Lord." He answered and all three stared in shock.

"Why?" Dean asked quietly and Castiel stared at him.

"Because God commanded it." Was the simple answer.

"Thank you." Sam whispered and the angel turned to him.

"It was not done for you Sam Winchester."

"Doesn't mean we can't say thanks." Harry pointed out and Castiel turned back to him and actually inclined his head, to the shock of the brothers.

"Harry Potter. Gryffindor's Heir, the Master of Death." Castiel stated and they stared at harry.

"What?" Dean asked but Harry kept staring at the angel.

"So you know who I am." Harry stated flatly and Castiel nodded.

"All of Heaven was aware of your sacrifice. Many humans would die for those they love but to die for strangers and those who have harmed you? You earnt many angel's respect that day." Castiel explained and Harry nodded tightly.

"Okay back up. What the hell are you two talking about?" Dean demanded.

"It's nothing Dean." Harry answered. "Why did God order you to pull Dean from hell?" Harry changed the subject.

"Because He has work for you." Castiel answered and Harry rolled his eyes.

"What work?" Harry asked and Dean looked at Sam who shrugged. Neither knew why Harry was so...tense.

"Stopping Lilith from freeing Lucifer." Castiel answered.

"She's trying to what?" Sam asked shakily and Harry stepped back, nudging him gently.

"Release Lucifer from his cage and bring about hell on earth." Castiel confirmed.

"That's not good." Harry whispered and Castiel nodded.

"There are Seals that keep him contained. One has already been broken, another sixty five must be broken. We need you to stop them." Castiel explained.

"Why us or me?" Dean demanded.

"That I do not know. I was just told to save you and inform you of your job." Castiel told them and then he was gone.

"Guess the vacation's over." Sam stated and then they all looked at each other.

"Bobby?" Harry asked and Dean nodded.

"Bobby."

TBC...


	17. 17

Sam glanced into the backseat where Harry was sprawled, apparently asleep. Sam wasn't too sure though, Harry didn't fell asleep in the car easily after all. It was possible the teen was simply trying to avoid the questioning looks Dean had been shooting him since Castiel had left. Honestly Sam didn't really blame him if that was the case. He couldn't blame Dean for wanting answers either. The Master of Death...there were so many things that title could mean. But really it was the Angel himself that had Sam's thoughts swirling.

Blood curdling screams from the backseat had Dean swerving and swearing before he regained control and pulled over, Sam dashing out and to the back of the car. Harry was practically convulsing on the seat, eyes open but not seeing the car as he screamed. Sam crawled in, hovering over Harry's thrashing body for a second before moving so his back was against the seat and then he yanked Harry into his arms, holding his cousin tightly to keep him from hurting himself. Obviously Harry had actually been asleep.

"Sam?" Dean called and Sam could hear a note of panic in his brother's voice.

"Stay back Dean, its okay." Sam answered as he rocked Harry gently. "Shh Harry, it's okay, you're safe." Sam whispered in Harry's ear as the teens struggles began to slow. "That's it, you're okay. Everyone's safe." Sam continued to whisper and then went to call out as Dean stepped closer...and then went flying. "Dean?" Sam yelled, sitting up as much as he could with Harry now clinging to him in his sleep.

"Owe." That weak answer let Sam relax a little; at least Dean was still conscious. Sam fully relaxed when Dean staggered back into view. "Sam? What the hell?" Dean grumbled and Sam shrugged as much as he could in his position.

"And that's why I share a bed with Harry. You okay?" Sam asked and Dean nodded but wisely kept his distance.

"Mmmm." Harry had finally relaxed in Sam's arms and sleepy green eyes slowly opened to peer up at Sam.

"Hey, you okay?" Sam asked and harry frowned, looking around, and then he groaned.

"Sorry." Harry whispered.

"No problem." Dean called. "Can I come over now?" He asked and Sam nodded. Dean crouched down near the door and gently laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'm thinking we should alternate nights bed sharing." Dean commented and Harry looked away but not before Dean saw the flash of shame in emerald eyes.

"I'm sorry Dean." Harry apologised and Dean reached out to ruffle Harry's hair, something he hadn't done since before his Dad had died.

"It's fine Harry. But we do need to talk later." Dean said and Harry nodded, still not looking at them.

\--------  
Bobby sat at his desk, reading yet another book and half listening to the brothers argue in his kitchen before glancing at Harry who was sitting nearby, staring out the window. Kid hadn't said much since they'd arrived and even Dean was throwing the boy an occasional worried look.

"Well, then tell me what else it could have been." Sam's voice jumped in volume and Harry sighed.

"Look, all I know is that I was not groped by an angel." Dean's voice was getting even louder than his brother's and Harry finally moved, turning to face the kitchen in annoyance. Bobby kept up the pretence of reading as he watched.

"Ok, look Dean. Why do you think this Castiel would lie to you about it?" Sam tried.

"Maybe he's some kind of demon." Dean argued and Harry rolled his eyes.

"He's not a demon." Harry stated quietly and Bobby nodded in agreement.

"Don't you think that if angels were real that some hunter, somewhere, would have seen one? At some point, ever!" Dean practically yelled and Harry let his head bang against the wall, earning him a snort of amusement from Bobby.

"Yeah. You just did, Dean." Sam argued.

"I'm trying to come up with a theory here, ok, work with me." Dean grumbled.

"Dean, we have a theory." Sam shot back.

"Yeah, one with a little less fairy dust on it, please." Dean told him and Harry shuddered.

"If they're anything like pixies keep them away." Harry muttered, apparently getting annoyed at being ignored.

"Ok, look. I'm not saying we know for sure I'm just saying that I think we-" Sam tried again.

"Okay, okay, that's the point. We don't know for sure so I'm not gonna believe this thing is a freaking "angel of the lord" because it said so." Dean cut him off.

"You two chuckleheads wanna keep arguing religion, or you wanna come look at this?" Bobby finally said and Harry smiled at him. Dean looked from Sam over to his cousin and Bobby, both of whom looked rather annoyed. The brother's joined them in the living room. "I got stacks of lore. Biblical, pre-Biblical, some of it's in damn cuneiform." Bobby said, turning the book around so they could see the drawing of an angel pulling a soul from hell by touching the upper arm, the same spot where Dean's new handshaped mark was. "It all says an angel can snatch a soul from the pit."

"What else?" Dean asked.

"What else, what?" Bobby asked.

"He wants to know what else could do it." Harry answered for his cousin.

"Airlift your ass out of the hot box? As far as I can tell, nothing." Bobby answered, sitting back in his chair. Sam turned to Dean with a small smile but Dean still looked sceptical.

"Dean, this is good news." Sam said.

"How?" Dean demanded and Harry sighed.

"Because for once this isn't another round of demon crap. Congratulations, you were saved by the good guys." Harry said and eyebrows went up at his language.

"Okay. Say it's true. Say, there are angels. Then what? There's a God?" Dean asked angrily.

"This point, Vegas money's on "yeah"." Bobby told him and Dean turned away.

"I don't know guys." Dean murmured.

"Ok, look. I- I know you're not all choirboy about this stuff but this is becoming less and less about faith, and more and more about proof." Sam tried and Dean turned to him.

"Proof?"

"Proof that there's a God out there that actually gives a crap about me, personally? I'm sorry, but I'm not buying it." Dean spat out and Harry actually reached out to slap the back of his head, making Dean jump.

"Why not?" Harry demanded.

"Because why me? If there's a God out there, why would he give a crap about me?" Dean argued. "I mean, I've saved some people, okay. I figure I've made up for the, for the stealing and the, and the ditching chicks. But why do I deserve to get saved? I'm just a regular guy."

"Well, apparently you're a regular guy that's important to the man upstairs." Sam shot back at him.

"Well, that creeps me out. I mean, I don't like getting singled out at birthday parties, much less by... God." Dean's arguments were losing their anger at last.

"Ok, well too bad, Dean. Because I think he wants you to strap on your party hat." Sam told him.

"Fine. What do we know about angels?" Dean gave in. Sam looked over at Bobby who grabbed a pile of books and slammed them down on the desk.

"Start reading." He said and Sam frowned. Dean turned to his brother and grinned.

"You're gonna get me some pie." Dean demanded and then walked off. Harry simply reached out and took the first book while Sam headed for the Impala to go get Dean his precious pie.

\-----------  
Harry stared at the body on the floor, the smell not bothering him as much as it did his cousins, so he knelt down for a closer look.

"Ripped apart, just like Olivia." Harry commented calmly, ignoring the looks he knew the brother's were sharing.

"Harry..." Sam, started but trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Sam don't. I can handle this better than you can so let me do it. This is nothing compared to a battlefield." Harry stated coldly and Sam recoiled slightly. "Same wounds as Olivia." Harry stood up and stretched out before heading outside. They followed him, Dean pulling out his cell to call Bobby.

"Yeah, we're at Jed's. It's not pretty. He looks even worse than Olivia, what about you?" Dean asked.

"I checked on Carl Bates and R.C Adams they've re-decorated. In red." Bobby said over the phone. Dean looked at his brother and cousin and nodded, letting them know Bobby had found the same things they had.

"What the hell's going on here, Bobby? Why do a bunch of ghosts suddenly want to gank off-duty hunters?" Dean asked as Harry and Sam got back in the Impala.

"I don't know. But until we find out, you guys better your asses to my place." Bobby answered as Dean got into the driver's seat.

"We're on our way." Dean assured the older man as he started the car. "Any ideas?" Dean asked and Harry leant his head back against the seat.

"Definitely ghosts, nothing like I've ever seen though. The ghosts at school are actually part of the defence against invaders." Harry answered. "But...something in both houses felt...off."

"I don't know Dean; hopefully we can find something at Bobby's." Sam added.

\-----------  
Harry leant tiredly against the Impala as Dean went inside to pay for the gas, Sam was still in the restroom. He closed his eyes and sighed, his magic stretching out as he relaxed his usually rigid control, letting the power out to taste the area. Emerald eyes snapped open as he felt something vaguely familiar.

"Hiya Sam. It's been a while." A voice said and Sam stared in shock

"Henriksen. Are you- Did you-" Sam choked out and then he watched as Henriksen flashed in and out quickly, proving the agent hadn't survived Lilith's visit.

"I didn't survive. If that's what you're asking." The dead man answered.

"I'm sorry." Sam whispered and he really was, in the end the agent had been a good guy, one who hadn't deserved to die.

"I know you are." He told Sam.

"Look, if we'd known Lilith was coming we-" Sam tried to say.

"You wouldn't have left half a dozen innocent people in that police station to die in your place. You did this to me." Henriksen said and Sam stared at him, guilt ridden. "It was your fault. She was after you and I payed the price."

"I-" Sam tried.

"You left us there to die!" The agent yelled. Henriksen grabbed Sam and threw him into the mirror. He moved closer and pinned Sam, letting the hunter notice the odd burn mark on the ghost's hand. He then slammed Sam into a wall and then into the mirror again, cracking the glass. Before Sam could hit the floor he was grabbed again and his face slammed into the sink twice before he was thrown to the floor. Sam tried to cover his face with his hands to protect it as Henriksen took a threatening step forward only to scream and vanish. Sam blinked to see Harry standing in the doorway, wand raised. A second later and Dean was behind Harry, gun drawn.

"Sam? You okay?" Dean demanded as he stepped past Harry. Sam nodded and let the two pull him up. He nodded groggily and they helped him over to the Impala, Harry pulling Sam into the back with him so he could tend the few cuts on Sam's face and hands.

Dean pulled out of the station and dialled his phone with one hand.

"Damn it Bobby, pick up." Dean grumbled and then redialled. He glanced back to see Harry gently cleaning a cut on Sam's cheek. "How are you feeling, huh? How many fingers am I holding up?" Dean called out and Sam rolled his eyes, making Harry grin.

"None. I'll be fine, Dean." Sam answered grumpily and then hissed in pain.

"Sorry." Harry whispered before gently pouring healing magic into Sam's body. Sam sighed and relaxed as the pain faded away.

"Henriksen?" Dean asked and Sam nodded.

"Yup." He said since Dean was glaring at the road.

"Why? What did he want?" Dean asked.

"Revenge 'cause we got him killed." Sam answered softly and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Sam." Dean growled out and Harry obligingly tapped the back of Sam's head.

"Well, we did, Dean. Don't hit me Harry." Sam grumbled/

"Then stop being stupid." Harry shot back. Dean looked back at them, finally giving up on getting through to Bobby via phone.

"Alright. Stop right there. Whatever the hell is going on, it's happening to us now, okay? I can't get a hold of Bobby so if you're not thinking answers, don't think at all." Dean stated and Sam slowly nodded, staring out the window.

\-------------  
"Sirius." Harry breathed in horror as he saw his godfather's ghost standing just outside the salt line.

"It's your fault Harry. You might as well have AK'd me yourself. I was wrong, your nothing like James." The dead wizard sneered.

"Harry." Sam called but the wizard ignored his cousin as he closed his eyes, calling up magic he didn't actually like. On his right ring finger an ornate ring flashed into being and Harry raised his hand, laying it against the ghost's chest.

"Poor little ah..." The ghost gasped, eyes going wide as Harry's ring glowed, the light travelling over Harry's hand and then over the ghost who screamed and then seemed to collapse against Harry. Grey eyes opened and Sirius reached up to place a hand against Harry's cheek. "M'sorry pup. I didn't mean it." Sirius said and Harry nodded.

"I know. Love you Padfoot." Harry whispered sadly and his godfather smiled.

"They're so proud of you kiddo, I am too." Sirius said and then he closed his eyes. Harry nodded and closed his, reaching out with his magic and Sirius slowly dissolved. Harry turned to the others, tears falling and then his eyes rolled back and he collapsed. Sam lunged, barely catching him before Harry hit the ground. The other spirits finally snapped out of their shook and started trying to stop Bobby again.

-  
Harry sat up and then nearly jumped as he saw Castiel watching him.

"You like watching people sleep?" He grumbled and Castiel just tilted his head in confusion.

"I was here to speak with Dean about his part in what is coming. You put one of the spirits to rest."

"So?"

"That should not have been possible." The angel answered and Harry shrugged.

"Impossible seems to be my middle name most days, besides Master of Death here." Harry answered.

"Dean asked me for answers, you should tell them."

"That's really not any of your business." Harry snapped and then put his head in his hands. "They don't need to know."

"Don't they? The seals that hold Lucifer in place are breaking and you will need to use more and more of your gifts to help your cousins." With that Castiel was gone as silently as he'd come.

TBC...


	18. 18

Dean stared out at his cousin who had been sitting on Bobby's porch for the last three hours straight.

"He okay?" Dean turned as Sam came up beside him and shrugged.

"He's been out there all morning." Dean answered, trying to hide his concern. Sam frowned in thought.

"Something about what happened yesterday has him really concerned." Sam commented and Dean nodded.

"You should talk to him." Dean urged and Sam stared at him. "You're closer to him than I am, you always have been Sammy. The what, three or so months you had together just made you closer. If he's gonna talk it'll be to you." Dean pointed out with a shrug.

"Dean...you didn't see Harry when he found out you were dead. He loves you."

"I know that Sammy." Dean assured him and Sam smiled before slipping outside to join their cousin.

"Hey Harry." Sam greeted, sitting beside him and smiling at Harry who finally looked up but he didn't smile in return. "You okay?" He asked and Harry shrugged. "You know Sirius didn't mean..."

"I know Sam, it was that stupid spell." Harry answered.

"So what's the problem? You can talk to me Harry." Sam urged and Harry buried his head in his folded arms again. Sam sighed and then reached over to tug Harry into a hug. Harry resisted for a few seconds before letting Sam pull him over. "Harry please, I'm worried about you." Sam whispered and Harry sighed.

"Get Dean and Bobby." Harry stated and Sam frowned but went to get them. Harry stood and stretched before heading inside and sitting at the kitchen table, leaning back in his chair to stare at the ceiling. He didn't want to do it and was half tempted to take the easy way out and dump them in a pensieve. He'd done that to show him his past once before after all. But with everything they'd all been through and what was happening...they deserved to hear it from him. Honestly he was scared, yeah they'd heard Castiel use his titles and they knew he'd been in a war but they didn't know the whole of what he'd seen and done. What if they hated him because of what he could do now?

"Harry?" Sam called and he looked down, seeing they'd joined him at the table. He sat fully upright but stared at the table, not knowing where to start. Then he drew his wand and nudged it over to Sam who frowned but picked it up and then he looked at Harry. "This isn't the same wand you had back then." Sam commented and Harry nodded before using his left hand to remove the suddenly visible ring from his right ring finger. Finally he pulled up the tightly folded square of shimmery material.

"Have any of you ever heard the 'Tale of the Three Brothers'?" Harry asked but none of them had. "The three Peverell brothers met Death and he gave them the choice of anything they wanted. The eldest asked for an unbeatable wand, the second wanted a way to bring back the dead and the third a cloak to make him invisible even to Death himself." Harry stated and both Sam and Bobby stared in shock at the three items Harry had placed on the table.

"Harry are you saying these are..." Bobby trailed off.

"The Elder Wand also known as the Deathstick or Wand of Destiny. The Resurrection Stone set into a ring baring the emblem of the three items. And the Cloak of Invisibility which passed through the Potter line from the youngest Peverell son. I'm the first person to possess and control all three which is why Castiel referred to me as the Master of Death. It's how I got rid of the ghost at the gas station and freed Sirius." Harry answered Bobby softly, refusing to look at any of them. He nearly jumped when Sam reached over and took his hand, squeezing it gently. Harry looked up at him and Sam smiled at him.

"So you can get rid of ghosts, no big deal." Dean shrugged and Harry took a deep breath.

"It's more than that." Harry said and Bobby shrugged.

"So what?" Bobby asked and Harry stared at them all before smiling slightly.

"So what else would you like to know?" Harry asked and the three exchanged looks. Sure they all wanted to know what had happened after Harry had returned to England but they didn't really want to push. "Just ask." Harry grumbled.

"What happened Harry? Just what you want to tell us." Sam said and Harry nodded.

"I got back to England, contacted some friends for help, trying to avoid Dumbledore and his group. We headed for the Ministry but it was a trap. Voldemort wanted something stored in the Department of Mysteries...in the Hall of Prophecies. Only those a prophecy is about can remove the orb and Voldemort was laying low so he tricked me into going after it, there were Death Eaters waiting for us. There was a fight and Sirius...Sirius died fighting his cousin Bella. The orb was smashed but Dumbledore had a copy. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not.. And either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives…The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…" Harry trailed off, taking a deep breath.

"I came back when everyone kept pushing but I found...you know. So I went back. Didn't go back to school though, ended up training with ex-Aurors, anyone who had skills or knowledge that'd be useful. Sat my exams and passed everything, even potions. The war started getting real bad so they started sending me out as well. Dumbledore finally came clear about how Voldemort survived that Halloween. He'd made Horcrux's; one was actually the Resurrection Stone. Dumbledore ended up being killed by Snape but he was dying anyway so it was to make Snape's position as a spy better. We found and destroyed all the horcrux's but one...me. I'd started putting things together after hearing the prophecy...our link...to make him mortal again I had to die. I gave Gryffindor's sword to Neville; he was the other one the prophecy could have concerned, so I figured he would have the best chance. I walked into the forest knowing I was going to die. But I didn't take the Elder Wand into account. Voldemort had it but by then I was its Master so when he cast the killing curse...something weird happened. I died and then I was at King's Cross Station and Dumbledore was there. The curse killed the fragment of Riddle's soul inside of me and I had a choice, I could stay dead or go back. I chose to come back, I had to finish it. Yeah he was mortal but he was way too good at avoiding death and Neville….he shouldn't have to live with that. Should have seen the looks on their faces when I got up and summoned the Elder Wand from his hand. I killed him, took his head off with a severing charm. After that there were a few more battles then it settled into clean up and rebuilding. I stuck around for a while and then I came back here." With that Harry fell silent, getting up and leaving after returning the Hallows to their usual spots.

The three hunters sat around the table, going over what Harry had revealed. Other than the explanation of the Hallows it hadn't added much to what they had already known. Didn't take a genius to know Harry still hadn't told them everything but they also knew that was all they were going to get off him.

TBC...


	19. 19

Harry watched as his cousins practised their hand to hand on each other in Bobby's yard, laughing when Sam pinned Dean, tickling his older brother. He tensed but then relaxed when Bobby joined him, obviously amused.

"Not joining in?"

"Nah, they need the bonding time." Harry answered as Dean finally got free and attacked Sam.

"Probably true. You and Sam are pretty close now, it's good to see." Bobby commented and Harry shrugged.

"They're the only family I've got left." Harry whispered and Bobby frowned.

"What about your friends?" Bobby asked and Harry just stared out into the yard. "Harry? What happened?"

"I dated someone they didn't approve of, not to mention being the Master of Death now." He stated calmly but Bobby saw the way his fists were clenched. Harry jumped the rail and headed off into the stacks of cars, the brothers stopping to watch him go before Sam took off after him and Dean walked over to Bobby.

"What happened?" Dean asked, worried for the kid.

"I asked about his friends…..he said they weren't happy about someone he dated or the nice new title he picked up thanks to those three objects." Bobby admitted and Dean glared at the thought of them abandoning Harry over that after everything Harry had told them about the 'Golden Trio'.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sam finally caught up to Harry, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder and then raising his other hand to block Harry's instinctive attack.

"Nice shot Harry." He praised and Harry went red, turning away. "Hey, it's okay Harry. Want to tell me what's wrong? Did Bobby say something?" Sam asked, wrapping his arms around his cousin to offer comfort. Harry stayed tense before relaxing, turning in Sam's arms to hug him back.

"Not his fault." Harry whispered.

"Talk to me Harry, please." Sam pleaded and Harry sighed but moved to lean against a wrecked car.

"He uh…asked about my friends in England."

"And?" Sam frowned. "Did they….the war?" He asked and Harry shook his head.

"They made it but…..I started dating someone, they didn't like my choice. Add to that my shiny new ring…then we broke up and….there's nothing for me there anymore." Harry admitted softly and Sam hugged him again.

"Then they're idiots Harry. If you find someone you're happy with then it's your choice, not theirs. Their only concern should have been that whoever it was, was good to you."

"But….it was Blaise Zabini, my year in Slytherin. He….he picked our side over his family but the Ministry tried to take everything anyway, I stepped in and we started talking…it went from there. He left me a little before I came back. Stupid thing is, they hated that he'd been a Slytherin, not the fact he was a guy." Harry snorted in disgust and Sam sighed, feeling sorry for his cousin. It was a little…weird to hear that Harry had been dating another guy but Sam didn't care as long as Harry was happy. "Not disgusted?" Harry asked shakily and Sam shook his head.

"As long as you're happy it doesn't matter Harry and I'm sorry they couldn't see that." Sam told him, making Harry relax.

"I think it was just the final straw, they'd been pulling away since they realised I'd accepted the Hallows. They've known me since we were eleven, why couldn't they trust me?"

"I don't know Harry. You have me and Dean and Bobby and we won't leave you."

"Unless any of you die again." Harry muttered and Sam grinned.

"Look who's talking shortie." Sam teased and Harry hit him. Sam retaliated and soon they were play fighting, making Dean smile when he found them.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry got between the brothers, green eyes narrowed in anger as he froze them both in place.

"Enough!" He yelled and they both blinked, the only movement they could control. "Dean I've been with Sam for all but that first month, I think I'd notice if he was pulling mind tricks so just back off! If you ever say…don't think I can't or won't kick your arse for him! And Sam just calm down, lets face it things haven't been the easiest for Dean since he came back so just give him time, okay? And I think I'll be having words with a certain feather brain later. So you two done fighting?" he asked and they both blinked yes so Harry released them, Sam's hand going to his nose immediately. "Let me look." Harry soothed, anger gone. He put his hand over Sam's nose and let his magic flow, healing it from where Dean's fist had slammed into Sam's face. Dean watched and then looked down at the floor, guilt flooding him as he saw the pain in Sam's eyes.

"Sam?" Dean whispered and Sam looked up at him hesitantly, almost breaking at the pain and fear in Sam's eyes. Why had he listened to the angel and just assumed? "Sammy, I…." Dean trailed off, knowing no apology would be enough and then Sam took a step towards him.

"Dean?" Sam asked hesitantly and Dean closed the distance between them, pulling Sam into his arms.

"I'm sorry Sammy, so sorry." Dean whispered and Sam nodded, returning the hug.

"I kept my promise, Harry killed Ruby, she attacked him. She wanted me to but I didn't, promise." Sam babbled and Dean nodded.

"I'm sorry, he said and I…I was scared Sam. We had so much trouble with Gordon and there are still others…..can't lose you again." Dean admitted. "I'd never hunt you Sammy, no matter what."

Harry stood back, watching with a small smile as the two forgave each other. He frowned as his thoughts wandered to Castiel; he really needed to have words with him about trying to set Dean against Sam. There may be some magic involved in that discussion, along with a certain sword.

"Can we go back to the room now?" Harry asked, figuring they would be embarrassed once they realised he was watching them. They separated and Dean looked around the room, frowning when he saw the bodies.

"If Sam didn't then who….." Dean looked at Harry who shrugged.

"Hey they thought nabbing me off the street would be fun." Harry answered. Dean loked at the bodies again and fought down a shudder, yeah, Harry was a lot more powerful and able to fight than he had been. He nearly jumped when Sam's phone rang and Sam searched his pockets for it, pulling it out to answer.

"Hello?" Sam asked, pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to collect himself. "Hey, Travis. Yeah, hey." Sam said and Dean frowned, they hadn't heard from Travis in years. "Uh…"Sam listened to him. "It's good to hear your voice, too, yeah. Um, look, it's not a really good time right now. It's-" Sam said but was cut off. "Yeah, okay. Uh, well, just give me the details, and, uh…" Sam looked up at Dean who searched himself for pen and paper. "Carthage, Missouri." Sam said and Harry handed Dean paper to write it down. "Looking for Jack Montgomery." Sam added and then hung up.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I can't believe it. Mom, a hunter?" Sam asked, completely shocked at the revelation. Harry was wisely staying out of it in the backseat. He'd never known his aunt and it felt….awkward.

"I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it myself. That woman could kick some ass. I mean, she almost took me down." Dean answered and Sam chuckled slightly before glancing at Dean.

"How'd she look? I mean... was she happy?" he asked hesitantly and Dean grinned.

"Yeah, she was awesome. Funny and smart. So hopeful." Dean admitted, glancing at Sam and feeling bad that his brother had only ever seen her as a ghost. "Dad, too. Until of course..." He trailed off and Sam sighed, looking out his window. "What?"

"Nothing." He muttered and then looked back at Dean. "It's just, our parents. And now we find out our grandparents too? Our whole family murdered and for what? So Yellow Eyes could get in my nursery and bleed in my mouth?" He asked and Dean felt his blood freeze in his veins. In the backseat Harry tensed, ready to intervene again if he had to. Sam had told him after he'd told Sam about being a horcrux but Harry knew Sam hadn't told Dean.

"Sam, I never said anything about demon blood." Dean whispered and Sam stared at his lap, looking guilty. "You knew about that?" He breathed, feeling betrayed.

"Yeah, for about a year." Sam whispered, unable to look at him.

"A whole year?" Dean choked out and Sam nodded.

"I should have told you. I'm sorry." Sam whispered and Dean caught another pair of green eyes in his rear view mirror. Harry didn't need to say anything to get his point across.

"No, it's okay Sammy. I just….wished you felt like you could tell me yourself." Dean admitted, smiling slightly when Sam's hand came into view, he lowered his hand from the wheel to squeeze Sam's hand. Harry leant forward and put his over theirs. "So no more secrets?" Dean asked and they both nodded at him.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three of them walked through the door into their shared room and stopped, all three reaching for weapons as they saw something before Dean smiled.

"Travis." Sam called out in greeting and Harry dropped his hand, studying the man who was sitting at the table drinking beer.

"See, Sam. Told you we should have hid the beer." Dean said as Travis got up, smiling as he walked towards them.

"Smartass. Get over here." Travis said, laughing as he and Dean hugged. "Ahh, good to see you."

"You too." Dean said as they broke apart and Travis moved to hug Sam as well.

"Good to see you." Travis told Sam who smiled at him.

"You too, Travis." When they parted Travis frowned as he saw Harry behind the brothers.

"And who's this?" The older hunter asked, studying him.

"Travis this is our cousin Harry Potter. Harry this is an old family friend, Travis." Dean introduced them and Harry held out a hand.

"Nice to meet you sir." Harry greeted and Travis nodded, smiling as he shook Harry's hand.

"You too kid. These two dragging you around huh?" He teased and Harry grinned.

"More like I keep saving their butts sir."

"Drop the sir, I'm Travis." He said and then stared at Sam. "Man, you got tall, kid." He commented and they all laughed. "How long has it been?"

"Ah, gotta be 10 years." Sam answered, moving to sit down.

"You still a.. oh, what was it... a mathlete?" Travis asked and Sam scoffd.

"No." Sam grumbled and Dean laughed.

"Yep, sure is." He teased his younger brother.

"Been too long, boys. I mean, look at you. Grown men. John would have been damn proud of you. Sticking together like this."

"Yeah. Yeah, we're as thick as thieves." Dean answered and Sam smiled at him. "And hey, now there's three of us. Nothing more important than family." Dean said, reaching out to ruffle Harry's hair, making Harry squirm and duck away.

"Sorry I'm late for the dance." Travis told them as they sat at the table. "Thanks for helping out an old man. I'm a little, uh, shorthanded." He indicated his right hand and arm which were covered in a cast. They laughed at that. "So, you track down Montgomery?"

"Yeah, we found him at his home." Sam told him as they got out the food they'd sent Harry for while watching the house, much to Harry's annoyance.

"And?"

"Well, he had a hell of a case of the munchies, topped off with a burger he forgot to cook." Dean answered and Harry wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"That's him alright."

"What's him?"

"Boys, we got a rougarou on our hands." Travis told them.

"A rougarou?" Dean glanced at Sam and Harry, the younger of whom shrugged. "Is that made up?" he looked at Travis before either could answer. "That sounds made up."

"They're mean, nasty little suckers. Rotted teeth, wormy skin, the works." Travis explained.

"Well, that ain't this guy. I mean, he was wearing a cellphone on his belt." Dean argued.

"He'll turn ugly soon enough. They start out human, for all intents and purposes." Travis continued.

"So, what? They go through some kind of metamorphosis?" Sam asked.

"Yep, like a maggot turning into a bull fly. But most of all they're hungry." Travis continued.

"Hungry for what?" Dean demanded.

"At first, for everything, but then... for long pig." Travis finished and Sam exhaled, understanding him. Harry took a second longer before looking sick.

"Long pig?" Dean asked, worried at seeing his family's reactions.

"He means human flesh." Harry mumbled, looking a little green.

"And that is my word of the day." Dean said, starting to look green himself.

"Hunger grows in, till they can't fight it. Till they got to take themselves a big, juicy chomp, and then it happens." Travis continued.

"What happens?" Sam asked.

"They transform completely and fast. One bite's all it takes. Eyes, teeth, skin; all turns. No going back either. They feed once, they're a monster forever. And our man Jack's headed there on a bullet train."

"Well, how'd you find this guy if he's a walking, talking human?" Dean asked in confusion.

"Lets just say it runs in his family." Travis told them and Harry's eyes widened.

"You mean, uh..." Harry trailed off.

"Killed his daddy back in '78. Son of a bitch mangled 8 bodies before I put him down. Guy used to be a dentist. Cadillac, trophy wife... Little did I know, pregnant trophy wife. She put the boy up for adoption. By the time I found out, he was long gone, lost in the system."

"You mean to tell me you couldn't find someone?" Dean demanded and Travis sighed.

"I'm not sure I wanted to. The idea of hunting down some poor kid... I don't think I'd have the heart. No. I wanted to wait, make damn sure I had the right man. Apparently, I do." He took a swig of beer.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Jack Montgomery?" Sam called as they walked into the yard. Jack didn't turn right away but then finally looked over the three of them. "I'm Sam Winchester. This is my brother; Dean and out cousin Harry. We need to talk." Sam told him and Jack looked them each over.

"About?" he demanded.

"About you. About how you're changing." Sam told him.

"Excuse me?"

"You're probably feeling your bones move under your skin. And your appetite's reaching, you know, "hungry hungry hippo" levels. How am I doing so far?" Dean continued, giving Sam a break.

"Who the hell are you guys?" Jack demanded angrily and Harry tossed a calming charm his way.

"We're people who know a little something about something. We're people who can help. Please, just hear us out." Harry called out calmly, watching as Jack calmed a little under the influence of his magic. Sam shot him a look and Harry shrugged, tuning them out while he studied Jack with his magic, looking for a way to help him. By the time he refocused on the conversation they'd obviously told Jack what he was.

"A-a what?" Jack stammered.

"A rougarou. Sounds made-up, I know, but believe me, it's not." Dean explained.

"Alright, I've noticed certain things. I mean, some strange things. But I just, I-I don't know. I'm… I'm sick or something." Jack argued.

"Your father was one of these things." Sam told him and Jack turned on Sam at that. "Your real father. He passed it on to you."

"No. Are-are you guys listening to yourselves? You s-sound like you're-"

"Skip the whole "you guys sound crazy", shall we? You're hungry, Jack. You're only gonna get hungrier." Harry grumbled, frustrated that he couldn't find anything with magic.

"Hungrier for?" Jack demanded.

"Long pig. You know, a little manburger helper, may have crossed your mind already." Sam told him.

"No." Jack denied.

"It doesn't have to be like this, Jack. You can fight it off." Sam tried and Jack shook his head.

"No."

"Others have." Sam kept trying.

"We're not gonna lie to you, though. It's not gonna be easy. You're gonna feel like an alcoholic swimming around in whiskey. But I'm telling you. You gotta say no... or-" Dean stepped in.

"Or what?" Jack demanded but he was getting shakier.

"You feed once, and it's all over. And then we'll have to stop you." Dean finished.

"Stop me? My dad, did uh, somebody stop him?" Jack asked, angry and scared.

"Yes." Harry whispered and Jack glared at him.

"Get off my property right now. I see you guys again, I'm calling the cops." Jack growled at them.

"Jack, your wife, everybody you know, they're in danger." Sam tried.

"Now!" Jack yelled and his neighbour looked over at the raised voices. Sam sighed and began to walk away.

"Good talk." Dean grumbled as they walked away, Jack watching them. Before they left the yard Harry shot a tracking charm at the man, just to be safe.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Castiel? Get your feathered butt down here!" Harry yelled; beyond mad at the angel for what he'd done. "Damn it you stupid angel don't make me summon you!" He screamed, magic building and then he spun to face the blue-eyes angel who looked puzzled.

"You are mad." He stated and Harry glared.

"No shit Sherlock." He snapped. "What were you trying to pull?"

"I do not understand."

"'Stop Sam or we will' ring a bell?" He asked and Castiel nodded.

"It is true, he must not use the powers" Castiel started but Harry cut him off.

"He isn't! He's never touched them! He kills demons with the knife; I use my sword and sometimes the Hallows. No visions, no nothing." Harry spat at him and Castiel stared in confusion.

"But I was told…"

"Yeah well tell your superiors that unless they want to test the limits of this Master of Death thing they better stay clear of all three of us. No one hurts my family. Clear?"

"Of course. I did not know but I will tell them that Sam has not strayed."

"Fine. You might want to stay away from Dean for a while too unless you want him to hit you." Harry warned and then he was alone. He snarled and lashed out with his magic before vanishing. All that was left of the surrounding trees was a crater.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Michelle?" Jack murmured as he came too. Travis stood in front of her, looking at Jack. "Okay. We're gonna stay calm. We're gonna give this man whatever he wants." He tried and Travis looked down at that, a bit sad at what he had to do. "Anything. Just take it and go, please."

"I'm sorry about this, Jack." Travis whispered as he walked over to Michelle. "I truly am." He began untying Michelle's gag. "It's not the way that I wanted it to go."

"Who are you?" Jack demanded.

"You already met some friends of mine." Travis told him, walking over to Jack. "Two brothers?"

"They said that if I..." Jack trailed off, looking at his wife who was shaking. "Look, I haven't hurt anybody."

"Not yet, but you would've." Travis argued and Jack shook his head. "They always do. I'm doing you a favour, son."

"Jack, what's he talking about?" Michelle asked fearfully and Jack looked over at her but stayed quiet.

"Tell her, Jack. Tell her the truth. She deserves to know." Travis told him but Jack shook his head.

"Just let her go. She's not a part of this." He pleaded.

"A part of what?" She demanded, confused. "Jack?"

"I really do apologize, but she is a part of it." Travis told them.

"What?" Jack looked between his wife and the hunter.

"Michelle... tell him what you told me when I got here." Travis told her and she stared at him, tears in her eyes.

"Michelle?" Jack whispered and she looked over at him.

"I said... "Don't hurt me... because I'm pregnant"." She answered softly, her voice breaking as she began to cry again. Travis looked over at Jack who turned to look at him, beginning to realise what the man was planning.

"J-just hold on a minute."

"Now you see the mess we're in? I can't make this mistake all over again. I won't be around in 30 years; this has got to end now. I know you don't believe me, but I'd give anything not to have to do this." Travis explained and Jack shook his head, pleading.

"No. No. No…" Jack tired to move but was stoped by the cuffs. Michelle stared at him, petrified, as Travis began readying his weapons.

"Oh God! Please don't!" She cried as she saw the gas canister.

"You don't have to do this!" Jack yelled as Travis began to pour the gas. "If you want to kill me, kill me, but not my wife. Okay? I'm begging you." He begged.

"Ain't got no choice. My condolences." Travis said as he continued to pour the gas. Jack desperately began yanking at his cuffs.

"Jack." Michelle whispered as Jack continued struggling, his eyes becoming bloodshot. Jack fought against the chains and then broke the chain between the cuffs, jumping on Travis. Straddling Travis, Jack began beating him. After two hits Travis started fighting back. Travis managed to switch their positions, using his cast to beat Jack, all while Michelle watched in terror. "Jack!" She screamed even as Jack captured Travis' arm and threw him to the floor. Jack's eyes were completely bloodshot as he held Travis in a choke hold with one hand, ripping away the hunter's shirt with the other. Travis lunged in, biting down on Travis' throat, making Travis scream in agony. Travis bled out quickly as Jack chewed at the piece of flesh he'd removed. As he took another bite his features began to change. He spun to face his wife, his face covered in blood. Standing up he walked over and untied her. Michelle jumped form the chair, moving away from him. "Stay away from me!" She screamed.

"Michelle." Jack sobbed out her name as she bolted form the house. She got in the car and drove away as quickly as possible even as a black Impala drove around the corner from the opposite direction.

"I guess now we know where Travis is." Dean commented as he spotted the other hunters car across the street.

"That stupid son of a bitch." Sam grumbled as they approached, looking things over. Dean entered first, eyes on the stairs, Sam following him. Neither knew where Harry was at the moment and were kind of glad he didn't have to see the mess they found. The kid had too many nightmares already. They came across a large puddle of blood but no bodies. A blood trail led behind the couch where they found Travis' body, or what was left.

"Oh, God. Think that's Travis?" Dean whispered and Sam sighed.

"What's left of him." Sam whispered in defeat and Dean reached over to part his arm, knowing that Sam sort of saw himself in Jack. "Guess you were right about Jack." Sam stated but before Dean could respond he was pushed forward. "Dean!" Sam yelled as Jack slammed Dean into the coffee table, knocking him out. Sam pulled his flamethrower up, trying to light it but Jack jumped him before he could. They slammed into the flor and Sam hit the back of his head. Stunned, he didn't have time to react as Jack slammed the flamethrower into his face.

Sam woke on the floor of a closet, he staggered up and tried the doorhandle but it was locked.

"Dean?" Sam called out, worried for his brother.

"Dean can't come to the phone right now." Sam heard Jack answer, blood running cold. He slammed his hand against the door in anger.

"Jack! If you hurt him, I swear to God!" Sam yelled.

"Calm down!" Jack yelled back form where he was sitting by Dean's feat. Dean was still unconscious, his head bleeding a little. Sam relaxed a little at hearing that, his heads resting against the door. "Your brother's alive. But not if you don't calm down."

"Alright, Jack. Listen. Open the door. We can figure this out, okay?" Sam called out calmly and Jack laughed.

"We'll have ourselves a little brainstorming session." Jack laughed and Sam closed his eyes, close to tears out of desperation.

"Jack. Please." Sam pleaded.

"I don't think so. After what you did?" Jack spat and Sam frowned.

"What? What are you talking about?" Sam asked, confused.

"You sent your friend here. He tried to burn my wife alive." Jack yelled and Sam paled. Travis wouldn't, would he?

"What? Why?" Sam demanded and Jack realised he didn't know.

"He didn't say." Jack lied and Sam finally found something useful, he grabbed the metal hanger and started working on the lock. "I guess psychopaths don't have to explain themselves." Jack stated, looking over at Dean and then slowly began to move along his body.

"Listen to me. You gotta believe me." Sam called out. "My brother and I, we never would have hurt her, okay?" He pleaded, hoping the lock gave soon. By then Jack was by Dean's face, reaching out with a shaking hand to dip his fingers in the blood on Dean's face. He stared at it before slowly licking it off.

"Oh, God. I'm so hungry." Jack murmured.

"Jack, don't do this." Sam begged.

"I can't ever see my family again. You two... your friend. You made me into this!" Jack yelled and then froze as a sword blade rested against his throat.

"No one made you kill." A calm, cold voice stated and in the closet Sam sagged in relief at hearing his cousin's voice. "Stand up, slowly." Harry ordered and Jack did as told, fighting the urge to go back to Dean's blood.

"Listen to me. You got this dark pit inside you. I know. Believe me, I know. But that doesn't mean you have to fall into it. You don't have to be a monster." Sam called, still working on the lock even as Jack turned slowly to face the person holding him at sword point. He looked at the teenager before him and almost tried it but then he saw the cold, hard eyes and thought better of it but he did laugh.

"Have you seen me lately?" He decided to answer Sam instead.

"It doesn't matter what you are." Sam argued, knowing Harry wouldn't move unless there was no choice. "It only matters what you do. It's your choice." Sam called out and Jack stared at Harry before his eyes went back to Dean. He grunted in pain, shaking as he reached towards Dean.

"Don't." Harry warned but Jack lunged. "Incendio." Harry called as Jack was mid lunge and the mans body went up in flames. He screamed once and then Harry's sword severed his head, cutting off his scream while his body burned. Harry looked down at Dean to find groggy green eyes staring up at him. Dean shot him a grateful smile and Harry nodded, even as Sam finally got the door open. Sam stared down at the burning body sadly and Harry reached over to hug him briefly.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You did the right thing, you know. That guy was a monster, there was no going back." Dean said, looking back at where Harry was sitting in the back. Harry nodded absently and Sam continued to stare out the window. "Anyway, where were you before?" Dean asked and Harry finally cracked a smile, even chuckling slightly.

"Just giving an angel some friendly advice." He answered and they both turned to stare at him.

"Dude, tell me you didn't threaten him!" Dean yelled, scared for Harry who smiled.

"Maybe. Relax, Castiel was shocked to learn he'd been given wrong intel. It's fine." Harry assured them.

"Fine, but no more threatening angels in case they try to smite you or something." Dean ordered and Harry laughed.

"Yes Dad."

TBC….


	20. 20

Harry frowned as he read the letter, ignoring his cousins as they bickered over their research. He couldn't believe they would be so stupid, then again…yeah he could believe it. He sighed and put the letter down, rubbing at his eyes, not noticing he had two sets of eyes suddenly locked on him.

"Harry?" Sam called and Harry looked over at him. "What's wrong?"

"The Minister is an idiot, then again the Wizamagot are backing it so they're idiots too. I uh…I'm gonna have to go back to London for a few days." Harry mumbled as he stood up, going over to start packing.

"Harry slow down, what's happening?" Dean asked, moving over to stop Harry so he would explain.

"They're….they're going to take him." Harry yelled and Dean grabbed his arms.

"Who Harry? What's going on?" Dean demanded and Harry stared at him.

"Teddy, they're gonna take Teddy." Harry whispered and Sam moved closer.

"Harry who's Teddy?" Sam asked gently.

"My godson. He….his Dad, Remus, he was a werewolf, his Mum was a metamorphmagus. They died in the war; Teddy was only a month or so. The Ministry passed some laws even more idiotic than usual. They're gonna take him from his grandmother and lock him up." Harry told them and they stared in horror.

"How old is this kid?" Dean asked and Harry took a deep breath.

"He's just a little kid; he's never even shown any symptoms of lycanthropy. He takes after his Mum." Harry whispered and Dean nodded.

"What are you going to do?" Sam asked and Harry shrugged.

"I technically have two seats on the Wizamagot, I can try and have the laws overturned, use my fame to put pressure on the Minster. If it doesn't work….take Teddy and bring him out here. British Ministry has no authority over here, he'd be safe."

"You want to bring a kid into this?" Dean demanded and Harry frowned.

"What? No…I'd bring Andy out too, set them up somewhere. Get the Goblins to work on setting up escape funds for anyone else the law covers." Harry said and Dean nodded.

"Okay go do what you need to. You can find us?" Sam asked and Harry nodded. He grabbed his bag and then vanished from the room.

"Hope he can save the kid." Dean whispered and Sam nodded.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry knocked on the door and then smiled when an exhausted Andromeda answered. She blinked in shock and then threw her arms around him.

"It's okay Andy, I'm here. I'll make sure Teddy's safe, whatever it takes." He whispered and then smiled as he heard the kid calling out. He went inside and smiled at the baby who reached out for him. Harry lifted his godson into his arms, holding him close and then laughing as Teddy's hair and eyes morphed to match his. "Who's a brilliant boy, my Teddy, that's who." Harry praised and Andy smiled as she saw them together.

"I'm so sorry about this Harry." She said as she sat down.

"Andy you're family. Teddy's probably as close to having a kid of my own as I'm gonna get." Harry assured her as he bounced the baby. "He's grown up so much." Harry commented.

"Well he will be two in a few months." Andy answered.

"Talking? Walking?"

"A bit slow on the walking but so was his mother; it's the changes and ever shifting balance." She explained and Harry nodded. "What can we do?"

"Well how is my popularity these days?" Harry asked as he settled Teddy down on the floor with some toys.

"Not bad, not as good as right after the war since you've been gone but still good. Minister Bergmen hasn't tried to trash it too badly so far."

"So I bring that plus my two seats down on the government. If that doesn't work how do you feel about America?"

"Harry….."

"He's my godson Andy; I won't let them do this to him or anyone else." Harry told her. "And there are a few other things I can let be known that could help."

"Thank you." She whispered and Harry nodded.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The radio around here sucks." Dean mumbled as he fiddled with the dial. Sam just rolled his eyes.

"Come on man."

"Jobs don't get much sweeter than this, you know? Dead vic with a gnawed-on neck, body drained of blood, and a witness who swears up and down that it was a vampire." Dean grinned at him and Sam nodded.

"No, I - I agree. It's a hell of a case."

"A little more gusto, please." Dean glanced at him and Sam shrugged.

"It's just...The world is coming to an end, Harry's back in England fighting for his godson…. Things are a little complicated, you know?"

"Yeah, well, we can't save the world, not today anyway and there's nothing we can do to help Harry at the moment. But what we can do is chop off some vamps' heads. Come on, man, it's like the good old days, an honest-To-Goodness monster hunt. It's about time the Winchesters got back to tackling. A straightforward, black-And-white case." Dean grinned and Sam finally smiled, nodding.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry stared at the other male, he'd known he'd see him at some point, they were both heads of old Houses after all but he'd been hoping to delay it a little longer.

"Harry." The other dark haired male greeted coolly, smoothing his black robes down.

"Blaise." Harry returned the greeting, fighting down the pain seeing his ex caused him. Despite the fact it had been months seeing the other wizard still hurt so much. Blaise had left him, was acting like they'd never been together, and Harry didn't understand why. He hadn't understood at the time either, he'd thought they were happy.

"I thought you left?"

"I did until I got word of certain new legislation." Harry answered, checking his own robes as they headed for the meeting chamber. Blaise nodded in understanding.

"Teddy." He commented and Harry nodded. "I had planned to vote against it anyway. I have been working on those who usually follow my lead but….a lot sided with Voldemort in the war and people still remember that." Blaise explained and Harry nodded.

"I know but these sort of laws are what drive them to join such causes." Harry grumbled as they reached the doors. "Why do I prefer fighting to politics?"

"Because you can kill your opponents." Blaise answered before crossing the floor to his seat. As soon as Harry was spotted the whispers started but he ignored them and made his way to his seat, nodding politely to the Chief Warlock before he sat down. He sat quietly, registering his vote for the matters that came up and then finally the new laws were introduced. He could feel the tension increasing, many people peering at him cautiously. They all knew why he was back. He waited as the laws were read out, taking deep, calming breaths so he didn't accidentally blow the Ministry up. When the floor was opened he listened to the one idiot talking in favour and then stood up, the room going still and silent as he stood tall, for the first time letting the Gryffindor Crest show on his robes and fighting the urge to grin at the gasps it caused.

"Congratulations on attempting to pass laws that will create the next Dark Lord." Harry stated and then waited for them to go quiet again. "After all these years you still haven't worked out why our society has so many? It's the fault of our society people. The British Wizarding World is a breeding ground for them because our society is stuck in the middle ages. Laws like this just prove it. If a muggle government tried to pass legislation like this it would be kicked out. By segregating parts of the population all you do is cause unrest. We should be looking for ways to help those like werewolves not locking them up. Here's a thought, cut down all those ridiculous high pays for the government and use the money to fund research into ways to help them. Muggles have blood banks; use something similar to supply vampires with blood. Try using common sense instead of causing hysteria. You claim to be better than muggles when in reality most of our population are no better than sheep willing to believe anything the Prophet or Ministry tell them. We lose half our population after graduation due to bigotry, most muggleborns and many half bloods are forced back into the muggle world to find any sort of well paying employment. All we're doing is inbreeding ourselves into becoming extinct. Have you looked at the pureblood birth rate? One child for every five half blood or muggleborn children. And those that are born, half of them either die in childhood or have some sort of defect. Muggles worked out over a century ago that marry your own family is a good way to wipe said family out. It's time you came out of the dark ages and accepted magic doesn't make us superior to others. Have we put a man on the moon? Muggles have." Harry sat down to see what would happen next, not surprised when the shouting started.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"And then it just - It just tore Rick into little pieces." She gasped out as she drank from her large soda.

"Ma'am, we understand how hard this is, but can you describe the creature?" Dean asked, sharing a look with Sam who rolled his eyes. Not like it was the weirdest reaction they'd seen.

"Oh. It was a werewolf." She stated as she came up for air.

"A werewolf? You're sure?" Sam asked and she nodded.

"Oh, yeah. With the furry face and the black nose and the claws and the torn-up pants and shirt, like from the old movies." She described and they both frowned.

"Um, well..." Sam trailed off.

"Okay, so... Thank you for your time." Dean said and then they backed away, heading for the morgue again. Dean leant against the wall as Sam looked for the right drawer. "First a Dracula and now a full-on movie-Time wolf man? What the hell is going on in this town?" Dean grumbled as Sam pulled the draw out and unzipped the body bag.

"Ohh. Whew." Sam pulled back at the stench and even Dean wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Damn!"

"All right. Whatever did this wasn't a psycho wannabe." Sam mumbled as he used a pencil to poke around inside the corpse.

"Look at those bite marks. Right down to the bone... And deeper."

"Strong enough to tear a healthy man apart limb from limb. Could be a werewolf." Dean offered as he cautiously moved closer.

"Yeah, except, look. The heart's still there in one piece. They never leave the heart behind."

"Thus I reiterate - What the hell is going on?" Dean growled out and then turned as the sheriff walked into the room.

"Well, I was hoping you boys could tell me. I just got a rush job back from the lab on those fibres we found on the body. Canine. Wolf hairs." The sheriff held up the report and Dean pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm getting a headache." Dean mumbled.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry stood up as the vote results were announced and he could feel everyone watching him nervously.

"When this starts a new war don't come looking to me to be your 'saviour' again. As far as I am concerned you will have brought it on yourselves and deserve it if you're wiped out. I wipe my hands of you pathetic idiots. I've already withdrawn all Potter and Black monies from the banks and all the business we supported so have fun with that. And I've made sure the real reason for this will be front page tomorrow. So Balthazar Bergen have fun getting re-elected Minister next year." With that Harry apparated straight out of the room, something that should not have been possible with all the wards. "Andy, you packed?" He called out as he entered the house, watching as her face fell. "I tried." He whispered and she nodded.

"I know Harry. Get Teddy?" She asked and he nodded so she went to get the remainder of her things. Harry went into the nursery and got Teddy, holding the boy close to his chest.

"It's gonna be okay Teddy bear, I won't let anyone hurt you." He whispered. Andy joined him and wrapped an arm around her waist, apparating straight to Bobby's.

"What the hell?" He yelped as they appeared.

"Sorry Bobby, needed a safe place to apparate too." Harry told him, jiggling the baby as he started to fuss.

"And these are?" The hunter asked and Andy moved closer, extending a hand.

"Andromeda Black-Tonks sir, this is my grandson Teddy Lupin. You obviously know Harry." Bobby took her hand, shaking it but still looking a bit bewildered.

"Robert Singer ma'am and yeah I've known Harry for a few years now. Can I know what's going on? Thought you were with your cousins?"

"I was till Andy's letter reached me. They need somewhere to stay until I can find them somewhere permanent. England's gotten a little….dangerous." Harry admitted, setting the kid down on the couch.

"What do you mean?"

"Teddy is human but his Dad…was a werewolf. The Ministry decided that means he gets to be locked up for life despite the fact he doesn't carry the disease. I tried to stop the law being passed but it didn't work so I got them out of the country." Harry explained. "Can they stay here for a couple of days, a week tops." Harry asked and Bobby sighed but nodded.

"I'll show you a bedroom." Bobby told her and she nodded.

"I should find Dean and Sam, Bobby will look after you." Harry told her and Andy hugged him.

"Thank you for everything." She whispered and Harry smiled.

"Anything for family." He answered and then he was gone.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well, thank you, g-Man. You have been a great service to your country." Jamie told Dean, her words interspersed with kisses.

"Oh, yes, I'm very, very patriotic." Dean told her, grinning as they kissed again. Sam rolled his eyes as Dean looked back at him and then Dean grinned as he spotted the familiar figure heading their way. Sam turned and relaxed as he saw Harry. "Bye."

"Bye." Jamie called after them, Harry falling into step with them. "You guys" Jamie called and they turned back to her. "saved my life, you know? So, thanks." She said and then left. Harry just looked around curiously.

"I like her." Sam admitted and Dean grinned.

"Feels good to be back on the job, doesn't it?" He asked and Sam nodded.

"Yeah, it does."

"The hero gets the girl; monster gets the gets all in all, happy ending - With a happy ending, no less." Dean praised and Sam chuckled.

"Real classy, Dean." Sam mumbled.

"So good case?" Harry asked and Dean grinned.

"Hey, all I'm saying is the shifter man had a point, you know? It would be nice if life was movie simple. Although, if I was turning life into a movie, I wouldn't do this "Abbott and Costello meet the monster" crap." Dean said in answer to both questions.

"Yeah. No, I know what you'd pick." Sam answered and Dean chuckled, shaking his head.

"No, you don't."

"Yeah, I do." Sam argued.

"No. You don't. You don't!"

"Porky's II." Sam stated and Dean stared at him.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Lucky guess. Anyway, how'd the trip go Harry?" Dean asked and Harry sighed.

"Not good, Bobby currently has two houseguests. The laws were passed so I pulled all the family money out of the country which means the economy is half way tanked but I don't really care anymore. Let them clean up their own messes, I'm done." Harry answered and Sam reached over to hug him.

"I'm sorry." He whispered and Harry nodded, getting into the back of the Impala.

TBC…


	21. 21

The Impala pulled up in front of Bobby's and they got out, the brothers tensing when a stranger opened the door but Harry smiled and walked over to hug the woman.

"Hey Andy." Harry whispered and she smiled at him.

"Hey yourself Harry. Get inside, you have a godson eager to see you." She told him and Harry grinned, running inside and then coming back out with the baby in his arms.

"Dean, Sam I want you to meet Andromeda Black-Tonks and her grandson, my Godson, Theodore Lupin but we call him Teddy." Harry introduced. Sam moved closer and the baby studied him before his hair and eyes changed to match Sam's making him jump. Harry just chuckled and tickled Teddy. "Good boy Teddy, that was so good." He praised.

"Harry?" Dean asked warily.

"Teddy takes after him Mum, he can alter his appearance but not total mass. Tonks used to amuse us by making her nose look like a pigs or changing her hair to wild colours." Harry explained and Dean walked closer, watching as Teddy's hair lightened to blonde. They got their bags and headed inside, Bobby greeting them.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hell's bells, Linus, have you seen my... Who are they?" The Sherriff asked as Sam and Dean stood.

"Federal agents. I, uh..." The poor Deputy stammered.

"And you kept them waiting?"

"You, you said not to disturb."

"Come on back, fellas." The Sherriff offered and they went to follow him into his office but he stopped them. "Shoes off." They did so and then followed him into the office.

Sam & Dean take their shoes off and walk into Sheriff's office. "Al Britton. Good to meet you." He shook their hands.

"You too." Sam offered as they sat down.

"Okay. So, what can I do for uncle Sam?"

"Well, we're looking into the death of Frank O'Brien. We understand some of your men found his body." Sam told him.

"They did. Me and Frank, we were friends. Hell, we were gamecocks." The Sherriff told them and Dean snickered getting a stern look. "That's our softball team's name. They're majestic animals. I knew Frank since high school. To be honest, I just this morning got up the strength to go see him. Frank was...He was a good man."

"Yeah. Big heart." Dean agreed.

"Before he died, did you notice frank acting strange? Maybe scared of something?" Sam asked.

"Oh hell, yeah. Real jumpy."

"You know what scared him?"

"No. Wouldn't answer his phone. Finally, I sent some of my boys over to check on him, and well, you know the rest." He poured even more alcohol gel on his hands and the brothers exchanged confused looks. "So, why the Feds give a crap? You don't really think there's a case here?"

"No, no. It's probably nothing. Just a heart attack." Dean assured him and they left, walking back towards the car. "No way that was a heart attack."

"Definitely no way. Three victims, all with those same red scratches. All went from jittery to terrified to dead within 48 hours."

"Something scared them to death?"

"All right, so what can do that?"

"What can't? Ghosts, vampires, chupacabra? It could be a hundred things."

"Yeah. So, we make a list and start crossing things off."

"Alright, who's the last person to see Frank O'Brien alive?"

"Uh, his neighbour, Mark Hutchins."

"Hang on, hang on." Dean stopped Sam who glanced at him curiously.

"What?"

"I don't like the looks of those teenagers down there." Dean told him and Sam looked around until he spotted the teens near the Impala. "Let's walk this way." Dean crossed the street and Sam watched him, confused by his behaviour.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So…." Harry trailed off and Andromeda smiled at him.

"It's wonderful Harry, thank you." She told him and Harry grinned, wincing when Teddy yanked on his hair.

"You're family Andy." Harry shrugged, shifting his grip on Teddy before putting the toddler down. Teddy looked around curiously before crawling off to explore. "Already baby proofed and fully furnished, bills come out of an account and everything. Bobby's ten minutes down the road if there's a problem and I'm on the road." Harry explained and she hugged him.

"I should tell you it's too much but I know how much you inherited. I also saw the prophet." She commented and Harry grinned.

"And the dear Minister?"

"Kicked out of office. But a lot of people are calling for your blood for crippling the economy."

"They'll learn, maybe." Harry shrugged it off; he could protect himself easily enough.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sam paused as he heard music coming from the Impala. He walked over and saw Dean lying out on the front seat. He knocked softly on the window but Dean still jumped a mile. Dean opened the door and held his arm out.

"Dude. Look at this." He revealed the scratches and Sam frowned, kneeling down to gently grasp Dean's arm, terrified for his brother.

"I just talked to Bobby."

"And?" Dean asked, smelling the box of donuts Sam handed over before tossing it into the backseat, confusing Sam since Dean usually loved donuts.

"Um, well, you're not gonna like it."

"What?"

"It's ghost sickness." Sam told him and Dean frowned.

"Ghost sickness?"

"Yeah."

"God, no." Dean breathed.

"Yeah."

"I don't even know what that is."

"Okay. Some cultures believe that certain spirits can infect the living with a disease, which is why they stopped displaying bodies in houses and started taking them off to funeral homes." Sam started to explain.

"Okay, get to the good stuff." Dean urged.

"Symptoms are you get anxious..."

"Yeah."

"Then scared, then really scared, then your heart gives out. Sound familiar?" Sam offered carefully.

"Yeah, but Sam, we haven't seen a ghost in weeks." Dean argued.

"Well, I doubt you caught it from a ghost. Look, once a spirit infects that first person, Ghost sickness can spread like any sickness through a cough, a handshake, whatever. It's like the flu. Now, Frank O'Brien was the first to die, which means he was probably the first infected. Patient zero." Sam explained.

"Our very own outbreak monkey."

"Right. Get this; Frank was in Maumee over the weekend. Softball tournament. Which is where he must have infected the other two victims."

"Were they gamecocks?" Dean asked but Sam shook his head.

"Cornjerkers."

"So, ghosts infected Frank. He passed it on to the other guys and I got it from his corpse?"

"Right."

"So now what, I have 48 hours before I go insane and my heart stops?"

"More like 24." Sam told him and Dean swallowed, looking scared.

"Super."

"Yeah."

"Well, why me? Why not you? I mean, you got hit with the spleen juice." Dean asked, voice raising in pitch and Sam tightened his grip on Dean's arm, letting him know he wasn't alone.

"Yeah, um, you see Bobby and I have a theory about that too. Turns out all three victims shared a certain, uh, personality type. Frank was a bully. The other two victims, one was a vice principal, the other was a bouncer."

"Okay."

"Basically, they were all dicks." Sam offered and Dean frowned at him.

"So you're saying I'm a dick?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"No, no, no. It's not just that. All three victims used fear as a weapon, and now this disease is just returning the favour." Sam rushed to explain, things had been getting a lot better between them since Harry had yelled at Castiel, he didn't want Dean to think that Sam thought he was a dick.

"I don't scare people." Dean argued and Sam rolled his eyes.

"Dean, all we do is scare people."

"Okay, well then, you're a dick too." Dean told him and Sam smiled slightly.

"Apparently, I'm not."

"Whatever. How do we stop it?"

"We gank the ghost that started all this. We do that, the disease should clear up."

"You thinking Frank's wife?" Dean asked quietly and Sam nodded.

"Who knows why she killed herself, you know? Hey, what are you doing waiting out here, anyway?"

"Our room's on the fourth floor." Dean answered, looking up at the building and Sam frowned. "It's...it's high." He whispered and Sam closed his eyes.

"I'll see if I can move us down to the first." Sam assured him, standing up.

"Thanks."

"Sure." Sam headed into the motel while Dean lay back down, glancing at the donuts.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Bobby?" Harry asked as he let the hunter into the house.

"You might wanna join your cousins." Bobby told him and Harry paled.

"What's wrong?" He demanded, going to gather his things.

"It's Dean, he caught Ghost Sickness. He….only has a few hours left." Bobby answered and Harry stared at him before grabbing a few more things and vanishing.

Dean screamed and jumped as Harry appeared in their room and harry stared at him with wide eyes.

"Sorry Dean, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Harry asked and Dean watched him warily. "Dean?"

"I…yeah, I'm okay." Dean answered, still panting for breath. Harry cautiously moved closer, gently scanning Dean with magic.

"Where's Sam?" Harry asked, gently pushing Dean over to the couch. Dean just shrugged and sat down. He watched Harry as the wizard went through his bags.

"Why are you here?" Dean asked and Harry looked up at him.

"Because you're dying." Harry stated flatly and Dean frowned.

"What?"

"You're dying Dean, I am the Master of Death so I figured I should be here, rip your soul out myself." Harry smirked, his ring glowing.

"No, no." Dean whimpered.

"Dean, Dean snap out of it." Harry called and Dean gasped, staring at the wizard kneeling in front of him, staring at him in concern.

"H…harry?"

"Yeah Dean, I'm here, you're gonna be okay big cousin." Harry assured him and Dean slumped, this was real, this was his cousin. "You're hallucinating." Harry stated and Dean nodded. Harry spun around, ready to defend Dean, as the door opened but relaxed when Sam walked in.

"I looked everywhere for you, Dean. How the hell did you get here?" Sam asked. "Harry what?"

"Bobby told me so I'm here to help."

"Ran. What do we do now? I got less than four hours on the clock. I'm gonna die, Sammy." Dean answered Sam looking at him and Harry noticed the slightly distant look was back. Dean was hallucinating again, great.

"Yeah, you are. You're going back." Sam agreed with Dean.

"Back?"

"Downstairs Dean, hell. It's about damn time, too. Truth is," Sam turned to face Dean, his eyes yellow, "You've been a real pain in my ass." Sam gestured and Dean was pinned to the wall.

"No! You get out of my brother, you evil son of a bitch!" Dean yelled, struggling.

"No one's possessing me, Dean. This is what I'm going to become. This is what I want to become. There's nothing you can do about it." Sam told him, smirking as he choked Dean. "Hey, hey, hey, Dean. Hey, Dean. Dean. Dean." Sam called, shaking him slightly and Dean gasped, clinging to Sam's arm, seeing the sheer concern in the normal hazel eyes.

"Sammy?"

"Yeah Dean, I'm here." Sam promised.

"He's hallucinating pretty frequently." Harry commented, moving to help Sam get Dean over to the bed.

"Bobby's on the way. Harry can you?"

"I'll stay with him; you do what you have to."

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It's okay Dean, you're gonna be okay. Come on look at me." Harry called softly and Dean whimpered, eyes darting around. Harry took a deep breath and focused his magic, not on the 'disease' but on Dean's heart, trying to slow the beats. He was not letting Dean die.

"You're not real!" Dean called out and Harry gently wiped his face with a cool cloth. Dean started gasping, his heart going crazy and Harry readied himself, to catch Dean's soul if he died. He was not losing his cousin again. Dean suddenly gasped and then…..he slumped on the bed, panting, his eyes clear and the fever gone. "Harry?" he croaked and Harry offered him some water.

"You're okay Dean, it's over." Harry promised and Dean nodded.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So you guys road-hauled a ghost with a chain?" Harry asked in disbelief and Sam grinned.

"Iron chain etched with spell work."

"Hmm, that's a new one." Dean nodded.

"It was what he was most afraid of. It was pretty brutal, though."

"On the upside, I'm still alive, so uh, go team!"

"Yeah. How you feeling, by the way?" Sam asked and Dean shrugged.

"Fine."

"You sure, Dean? 'Cause this line of work can get awful scary." Bobby offered and Dean glared.

"I'm fine. You want to go hunting? I'll hunt. I'll kill anything."

"Awwww, he's adorable. I got to get out of here. You boys drive safe." Bobby teased.

"You too, Bobby. Hey, thanks." Sam told him and the hunter nodded.

"I'd offer you a lift but you can beat me back." Bobby told Harry who nodded.

"Andy and Teddy are fine; I'm going to stay anyway." He told Bobby who got in his car and drove off.

"So uh...so, what did you see? Near the end, I mean." Sam asked Dean.

"Oh, besides a cop beating my ass?" Dean offered and harry winced, he should not have gone to the bathroom while Dean was so sick.

"Seriously." Sam told him and Dean glanced at him, seeing a flash of yellow in his eyes.

"Howler monkeys. Whole roomful of them. Those things creep the hell out of me." Dean answered and Harry frowned, why was Dean lying?

"Right." Sam stated flatly and Dean sighed, taking a drink of his coke.

"No, just the usual stuff, Sammy. Nothing I can't handle." Dean assured them

TBC….


	22. 22

Harry watched Dean and Sam, frowning slightly as he saw Dean pulling away from his brother. It had been two week since Dean had been cured and it was getting worse. Harry could see the toll it was taking on Sam as well, his confidence dropping drastically. He waited until Sam was in the shower and then grabbed Dean and apparated to a deserted area.

"What the hell Harry?" Dean snapped and Harry glared hard enough that he actually shifted back a little.

"You want to tell me what's going on?"

"Don't know what you mean."

"The way you're reacting around Sam? He's noticed too if you care." Harry snapped and Dean actually flinched. Harry sighed and closed his eyes. "Dean please, what's going on with you?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"Liar. Dean come on, we can't afford to let anything push us apart at the moment." Harry pushed, staring his cousin down. Dean looked away, hugging himself and Harry felt a flash of panic. What the hell was going on? Dean had been doing so well in recovering from hell before that stupid ghost sickness. Harry moved closer and hugged him, letting his magic surround them, warming the air and Dean slowly relaxed, a hand moving to clutch at Harry's shirt. "Come on Dean, talk to me." Harry begged.

"I keep seeing…"

"Seeing what?" Harry asked gently.

"Sam's eyes." Dean whispered and Harry frowned.

 

"What about them?"

"Yellow. I keep seeing them flash yellow like….like that demon." Dean admitted and Harry hugged him tightly.

"It's not real Dean, I promise. I would have seen it too. Sam is Sam; he's not possessed or turning evil or anything. He's still our Sammy and he needs you." Harry told him firmly and Dean slumped. "It started when you were sick didn't it?"

"Yeah but then after, when Bobby left I saw it again." Dean admitted and Harry gently placed his hands over Dean's temples, carefully scanning him for any sign of tampering or spells. He snarled when he found a trace of angelic power lingering in Dean's mind. He took a deep breath and began working to shield Dean's mind. Dean blinked dazedly and shook his head. "What?"

"Someone was messing with your head Dean, an angelic someone. Trying to drive you two apart." Harry explained.

"Shit. I gotta see Sammy." Dean demanded and Harry nodded, apparating back to fins Sam looking around the room forlornly. "Sammy." Dean called and Sam stared at him, unsure. Dean moved forward and yanked Sam into a hug. "I'm sorry Sammy, so sorry." Dean whispered and Sam hugged back.

"What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing."

"It's not Dean's fault Sam, an angel was messing with his head. I fixed it for now." Harry told the younger Winchester. Sam's eyes widened and he clung tightly to his brother, he didn't need to be told what they'd done to Dean, he knew it had to have something to do with his demonic blood and latent powers.

"I'm here Dean, still me. Never gonna use them." Sam swore to him and Dean nodded. Harry watched them before slipping away; he had an angel to hunt.

TBC…


	23. 23

Disclaimer: Not mine.  
Sorry for the long wait.

Chapter 23

Harry sprawled in the backseat of the Impala as Dean drove down the highway. He stared up at the Impala’s roof, not in the mood to really do anything. Halloween was in a few days and that was never a good time for him. Hopefully this year would be better than previous ones. At least Sam was getting some sleep so that’d be one person not grumpy when they got to wherever they were headed. Harry blinked as a paper landed on his chest and then looked to the front and Dean. “See if you can find us something.” Dean called and Harry opened the paper to read. 

“Think I got something.” He told his cousin after a while.

“What is it?”

“Guy ate razor blades and died. They were in the Halloween candy. Why on earth would you keep eating after the first ouch?” Harry asked in confusion.

“Not much but we should check it out in case.” Dean answered. 

````````````````````````  
Harry sat at the table, reading over the information dug up on Luke Wallace. It sucked but he was too young to be believable as an agent. He could use a glamour but then he risked it being disrupted. And that would lead to having to obliviate people and he hated that sort of magic. He could use it but he didn’t like messing with people’s minds, especially those with no defence. Harry grabbed his phone as it rang.

“Dean?”

“We found the witch, wanna join in?”

“Sure, I’ll see you there.” Harry grabbed what he needed and left the motel room to meet up with his cousins. This sort of thing made his blood boil. How dare they use magic for this sort of thing and to sell your soul for it? Idiotic. He apparated right out of the room and into the backseat of the Impala. Neither of his cousins jumped since they were used to the sound of him apparating now. “So what’s going on?”

“That’s her apartment up there.” Sam pointed it out and Harry nodded, studying it magically. 

“Got some nice wards up.” He told them. “And yes she will know if we go in there. On the downside, she isn’t home so any idea where she is?”

“None, we were hoping she was here.”

“Time to split up and search the town then.” Dean grumbled. Sam and Harry nodded, getting out of the car to search around, Dean heading for Tracy’s friends. 

Harry wandered around town, all senses reaching out to find the witch. They had to find her before she could raise Samhain. He was rather mad that a demon had taken the name of the day as its own. Sure Harry hated Halloween since it was the day his parents had been murdered and all through school something bad had happened, usually an attack. But it was the day when the barriers between worlds were at their thinnest. Harry had sworn to never use the Stone again but on this day he didn’t need it, he could see his lost loved ones stopping by to check up on him even if they couldn’t speak to each other. And instead of getting to interact with them on some level he may end up fighting a seriously powerful demon. Eventually he gave up and headed back to the motel, seeing Sam and the Impala pulling in. “So?” Dean called as they both made it over to the car. 

“Tracy was nowhere I could find. Any luck with her friends?” Sam answered as Dean got out. 

“Nah, luck is not our style. Her friends don’t know where she is. It’s like the bitch popped a broomstick.” 

“I couldn’t see or feel her anywhere.” Harry told them even as he hit Dean for the broomstick comment. They headed towards their room, Dean biting back a snort at the sight of a kid dressed as an astronaut. 

“She could be making the third sacrifice any time.” Sam grumbled, lowering his voice with the kid getting closer. 

“Yes, thank you Sam.” 

“Trick or treat.” The boy said, holding his candy bucket up. 

“This is a motel.” 

“So?” 

“So we don’t have any candy.”

“No, we have a ton in the uh…” Sam disagreed, pointing back at the car. 

“We did, but it’s gone.” Dean told them and Sam and Harry stared at him, unimpressed. “Sorry kid, we can’t help ya.”

“I want candy.” 

“Well, I think you’ve had enough.” The kid glared at Dean, narrowing his eyes. 

Harry shook his head, quickly conjuring some sweets in his pocket. “Here kid.” He tossed the lollies into the bucket and got a smile. As the kid walked past Dean he shoved into him and Dean put his hands up. Harry and Sam laughed as Sam opened their room door only to go for his gun and then relax as he recognised Castiel. Harry saw the angel and smiled at him. “Hey Castiel.”

“Lord Potter.” He greeted him respectfully even as Uriel scoffed in the background. Castiel watched as the young Master of Death looked at the other angel. Uriel needed to learn to treat humans better. Harry would not stand for his attitude and he was no longer just a wizard or even strictly human. 

“Have you found the witch?” Uriel demanded.

“We know who it is.” Sam answered warily. Harry kept himself between the new angel and his family, this angel did not give him a good feeling and he was the best equipped to do something should he try anything. 

“And apparently she is aware of who you are too.” Castiel told them, tossing the hex bag to Harry who studied it and then incinerated it. “If we hadn’t found it one of you would be dead.” The angel pointed out, though he knew Harry could have stopped it if they had found it in time. “Do you know where the witch it now?”

“We’re working on it.” Dean answered.

“That’s unfortunate.” Castiel murmured and the three stiffened in alarm. 

“What do you care?” Dean demanded. 

“The raising of Samhain is one of the 66 seals.” 

“So this is about your buddy Lucifer.” Dean shook his head and Uriel moved closer.

“Lucifer is no friend of ours.”

“It’s just an expression.” 

“Lucifer cannot rise. The breaking of the seal must be prevented at all costs.” Castiel tried to calm them down a little. 

“Okay, great, well now that you’re here, why don’t you tell us where the witch is, we’ll gank her and everybody goes home.” 

“We are not omniscient. This witch is very powerful; she’s cloaked even our methods.” 

“Okay, well we already know who she is, so if we work together –“ Sam offered only to be cut off. 

“Enough of this.” 

“Okay, who are you and why should I care?” Dean snapped and Uriel turned to look at him. 

“This is Uriel; he’s what you might call a… specialist.” Castiel introduced him and Harry’s eyes narrowed. 

“What kind of specialist? What are you going to do?” The wizard asked warily, not liking where this was going at all. 

“You – uh, the three of you – you need to leave this town immediately.” 

“Why?” Dean absently rubbed the hand mark on his shoulder without realising it. 

“Because we’re about to destroy it.” Castiel admitted. 

“So this is your plan, you’re gonna smite the whole friggin’ town?” Dean snarled. 

“We’re out of time. This witch has to die, the seal must be saved.” Castiel told them, trying to make them understand. He did not want to kill so many but there was no other choice. 

“There are a thousand people here.” Sam stared at the angels in shock, they wouldn‘t really kill so many, would they? 

“One thousand two hundred fourteen.” Uriel told him and Sam glared at him. 

“And you’re willing to kill them all?” 

“This isn’t the first time I’ve… purified a city.” 

“Look, I understand this is regrettable.” Castiel tried, shooting a look at the other angel, they needed the three to cooperate not shoot them. 

“Regrettable?” Harry snorted in disgust. 

“We have to hold the line. Too many seals have broken already.” 

“So you screw the pooch on some seals and this town has to pay the price?” 

“It’s the lives of one thousand against the lives of six billion. There’s a bigger picture here.” Castiel explained, seeing the look of disgust on Harry’s face. “You fought a war; you know that this must sometimes be done.” 

“No, there is never a reason to kill so many innocent civilians.” Harry denied. 

“Lucifer cannot rise. He does and hell rises with him. Is that something that you’re willing to risk?” 

“We'll stop this witch before she summons anyone. Your seal won't be broken and no one has to die.” Sam tried. 

“We're wasting time with these mud monkeys.” 

“I’m sorry, but we have our orders.” Castiel turned away from them. 

“No, you can’t do this, you’re angels, I mean aren’t you supposed to – You’re supposed to show mercy.” Sam denied. 

“Says who?” Uriel sneered at him.

“We have no choice.” 

“Of course you have a choice. I mean, come on, what? You’ve never questioned a crap order, huh? What are you both, just a couple of hammers?” 

“Look, even if you can’t understand it, have faith. The plan is just.” 

“How can you even say that? There’s nothing just about killing so many people.” Harry spat out and then tightened his shields when the lamp began to rattle. 

“Because it comes from heaven, that makes it just.” 

“Oh, it must be nice, to be so sure of yourselves.” Dean sneered. 

“Tell me something, Dean, when your father gave you an order, didn’t you obey?” Castiel asked and Dean looked at him sadly. 

“Well sorry boys, looks like the plans have changed.” Dean grinned. 

“You think you can stop us?” Uriel asked in amusement and Dean walked over to get in his face, making Sam and Harry tense. 

“No, but if you’re gonna smite this whole town, then you’re gonna have to smite us with it, because we are not leaving. See, you went to the trouble of busting me out of hell. I figure I’m worth something to the man upstairs. So you wanna waste me, go ahead, see how he digs that.” 

“I will drag you out of here myself.” Uriel growled.

“Dare you to try.” Harry snarled. 

“Yeah, but you’ll have to kill me, then we’re back to the same problem. I mean, come on, you're gonna wipe out a whole town for one little witch. Sounds to me like you're compensating for something.” Dean said to distract the angel from his rather mad cousin. He looked over at Castiel, pleading silently. “We can do this. We will find that witch and we will stop the summoning.” 

“Castiel! I will not let these peop– “

Castiel held his hand up. “Enough!” Uriel shut his mouth in response and moved back. “I suggest you move quickly.” Castiel told them before the two vanished.

``````````````````````  
“The decision’s been made.” Castiel stated, watching the children play in the park, enjoying their innocence.

Uriel laughed. “By a mud monkey.” He sneered in disgust. 

“You shouldn’t call them that.” 

“Ah, it’s what they are, savages, just plumbing on two legs.” 

“You’re close to blasphemy.” Castiel warned, voice colder. Uriel sighed and watched the children, not feeling his brothers’ awe. “There’s a reason we were sent to save him. He has potential, he may succeed here.” He sat on the bench beside Uriel. “And any rate, it’s out of our hands.” 

“It doesn’t have to be.” 

“And what would you suggest?” 

“That we drag Dean Winchester out of here and then we blow this insignificant pinprick off the map.” 

“You know our true orders. Are you prepared to disobey?” Castiel demanded and Uriel just looked at him.

“I’d like to know what those are.” Harry stated as he became visible, actually startling the two. Uriel sneered at him and Harry glared, green eyes almost glowing with power. Castiel stood back up, moving between the two. He would rather not learn if Harry was able to kill them or not. Harry stared at them, eyes narrowed and then they widened. “It’s a test.” He stated and Castiel blinked, how had he worked that out? “You want to see what Dean will do.”

“A smart mud monkey.” Uriel taunted and Harry glared at him.

“Angels aren’t unkillable.” Harry responded. 

```````````````````  
Harry skidded around the corner, seeing the demon choking Sam he summoned Ruby’s knife, sending it into the demon’s heart even as he moved to catch Sam, rubbing his back to help him calm down as he coughed and tried to breathe normally. “Easy Sam, I’ve got you.” Harry whispered, feeling his cousin relax against him. “It’s okay, just breathe.”

“Sam!” Dean yelled as he ran in, relaxing a little when he saw the dead demon. He dropped down beside them, gently touching Sam’s neck to check for injury. “You okay?” He asked and Sam nodded, still wheezing slightly. 

“Owe.” Sam wheezed and they chuckled but helped him get up. Sam swayed between them and Harry winced.

“Okay, everyone hold on.” He said before apparating them back to the motel. They got Sam settled on the bed with some ice chips to help sooth his throat. “Well the demons dead but the seal broke.” Harry sighed. “So is that a success or failure?”

“Well the town is still alive so I’m going with success.” Dean answered and Harry nodded. 

TBC….


	24. 24

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Chapter 24

Harry stood on the deserted beach, the wind whipping around him as he stared out at the water. His cousins were back at the motel but he needed the time alone. With the whole Seal thing he hadn’t had time for his yearly mourning period. He just stared out at the waves, hearing his mother’s cries in his mind as she begged for him to be spared. Seeing them using the Resurrection Stone had lessened the pain of those memories a little but he would always remember her death. Voldemort’s apparent obsession with attacking on Halloween had completely ruined the day for him and left him wanting solitude to deal with his grief over all the needless deaths, his parents, Sirius, Remus, Fred, Colin……so many had died because of one man and his insanity. He absently rubbed at the ring but refrained from summoning anyone, knowing the pain it caused them. “Why are you here?” He called out after a while and Castiel cocked his head in surprise before becoming visible.

“You knew I was there?”

“The whole time. So why?”

“I could sense your pain.”

“So why haven’t you shown up before? The emotions the same every year.” 

“I was not on earth then.” The angel pointed out. “Why are you alone instead of allowing your family to help you?”

“I just need to be alone.”

“As you wish Lord Potter.”

“Cas.” Harry called before he could vanish. “Don’t trust Uriel.” And then Harry apparated away.

```````````````````````````````````  
Andromeda ran downstairs, terrified. Teddy’s crib was empty. She stopped in the doorway to the lounge room and smiled softly at the sight of Harry and Teddy sleeping together, her grandson curled on his godfathers’ chest. Emerald eyes snapped open, Harry’s grip tightening on Teddy until he recognised her and relaxed. “Everything all right?” She whispered and he nodded, sitting up careful. 

“He was fussing, dirty nappy.” 

“So you showed up in the middle of the night to change it?” She teased and Harry shrugged. 

“Everything been good here?”

“Teddy’s adapting the change well and Bobby stops by frequently to check on us.”

“Bobby?” This time it was his turn to tease and one elegant eyebrow went up as she stared at him. 

“He is a good man.”

“Yeah, he is.” Harry smiled, after all he had agreed to act as his place of residence when he had spent that time in muggle high school. 

“Harry….he is just a friend.”

“Andromeda you don’t have to be alone.”

She just smiled softly. “Not after Ted.” She whispered and Harry nodded, gently rocking Teddy. “What about you? Found a nice person to settle down with?”

“With the possible apocalypse on the horizon? Bit too focused on keeping the world turning.” And after that thing with Blaise…he just couldn’t try again, not any time soon anyway. She just gave him a sad smile and then went to get breakfast ready. She knew Harry wouldn’t stay long, he couldn’t stay away from his cousins with the danger they were in. 

``````````````````````````````````````  
Blaise looked over the reports and then let them drop to his desk. What had they done? Everything was falling apart. No one had ever suspected just how much money Harry had or how many vital companies he was the majority investor in. Hogwarts fees had gotten so high that very few families could afford it without scholarships of which there were now two without the ones funded by the various families Harry was head of. Half of Diagon Alley was on the verge of bankruptcy as well. They’d been warned when they passed the law that would have seen Harry’s godson locked up and now they were paying the price for their bigotry. He picked up a blank piece of parchment and began penning a letter; it was time for the Zabini family to cut its ties to the British Wizarding World. 

``````````````````````````````````````  
Harry grabbed his phone, being careful not to drop Teddy. “Dean? What’s going on?”

“We could use your demon killing mojo that’s what.”

“Where are you?”

“Heading for Bobby’s with a whole lot of trouble. Grabbed a girl that the demons want real bad and apparently now the angels want her dead. She can listen in on them or something.” 

“Why is it always you two in the middle of stuff?” Harry sighed. “I’ll head over to Bobby’s in a bit since I’m closer. See you soon.” Harry hung up and put the baby in his bassinet. “Andromeda? I have to go.”

“The boys?”

“Yeah, we’ll be at Bobby’s so stay clear until we tell you otherwise.”

“Alright. Just be safe.”

“What are they gonna do, kill me?” He flashed her a cheeky grin and then vanished. 

``````````````````````````````````  
Harry studied the young woman with his cousins and something about her just screamed wrong. She saw him and froze. 

“Anna?” Dean asked.

“You’re him, you’re real. The Master of Death.” She whispered in awe and fear. Harry just nodded and moved into the kitchen.

“Harry?” Sam asked as he followed. 

“There is something seriously wrong with her Sam, makes my skin crawl but I don’t know why. How did you find her?”

“Anonymous tip.”

“And now Heaven and Hell are after her and you. Great.” Harry sighed and poured out coffee laced with holy water for safety. Sam took a mug and downed it, making Harry smile. He left the kitchen and handed the other mugs around, watching Anna from the corner of his eye as she drank but she showed no reaction. He took a seat and closed his eyes, focusing his powers on her. Now that he was looking closer something about her was sort of familiar. But what was it? He focused deeper and the others noticed her squirm slightly in discomfort. “Oh shit.” Harry breathed, eyes snapping open as he stared at her. 

“Harry?”

“She’s an angel….or was. 

“What?” The brothers both cried out in shock.

“There’s a hole in her, where her Grace should be. Like it was torn out forcefully but bit against her will. She purposely fell.” He answered, watching her warily. “Which would explain Heaven being after her, she disobeyed.” 

“And Hell would love to get their hands on even an ex-angel.” Sam finished and Harry nodded. 

“And now we’re right in the middle.” Harry stared at Anna who just stared back with wide eyes.

TBC….


	25. 25

Disclaimer: Not mine.  
Please vote in my ffnet poll

Chapter 25

Harry sat on the porch staring out over Bobby’s yard. He was very worried about all of them at the moment. Sure, odds were even an angel couldn’t kill him but the others? He couldn’t imagine seeing Dean or Sam die, he couldn’t lose what little family he had left. And all over some stupid angel that decided to disobey. He was all for handing over to any angel that showed up but noooo, Dean and Sam wanted to save her. Maybe it was his connection to Death that made him so uncaring towards her or burnout from the war, he didn’t know or really care. He’d been finding it hard to care about anyone outside his family for a while now. 

Maybe what had happened with Blaise had been the last emotional straw for him. And yet despite that he still missed the Italian which was just stupid. Though it was better it had happened now and not after he got up the nerve to propose. He knew Blaise wasn’t solely to blame for what had happened, the others man’s friends and family had all played their parts, as had the press and even the Ministry. That had made bankrupting the place all the more sweet. Especially the Prophet after that front page expose with colour photos that had been printed three weeks before Blaise ended it. He had nearly gone down and cursed the writer who surprisingly wasn’t Rita. Seeing him again had brought it all back, despite the fact that they had managed to work well together in an effort to make the government see sense. 

Harry sighed and leant his head in his hands. He hated this. He just wanted to go back to when he would sprawl in the back of his uncle’s truck, the impala behind them. He missed his Uncle John a lot, despite not having known him for long. 

“You okay?” A gruff voice asked and he looked up to see Bobby standing nearby, offering a bottle of soda which he accepted.

“I just….this is nuts. Can’t they see that?”

“Anna? You think we should just hand her over?”

“It’s internal angel business, nothing to do with us as long as hell doesn’t get its hands on her. Sooner or later both of them are gonna track her down and we’ll end up in the crossfire. And who says the angels won’t do anything but welcome her back to the flock?”

“You really believe that?” Bobby asked and Harry shrugged.

“Better than one of us dying over her. Something about her…just doesn’t feel right. I don’t trust her as far as Teddy could throw her.” That made Bobby chuckle. 

```````````````````````````````````  
“What is your problem with me?” Anna asked and Harry stared at her, he wasn’t sure her remembering being an angel was a good thing but it was too late now. 

“You’re putting my family in danger for something we shouldn’t be involved in. Angel discipline has nothing to do with us. If any of my family dies I will kill you myself.” He stated coldly. Yeah, hunters saved people and Hermione had always accused him of having a saving people thing but as far as he was concerned she was no innocent in need of saving.

``````````````````````````  
Harry picked Teddy up, the baby gurgling in joy even as his hair darkened to match his godfather’s making Harry laugh. “Happy to see me huh?” He teased his belly making the baby squeal. “You being good for Grandma?”

“He’s being a complete terror.” Andromeda answered and Harry grinned.

“That’s a good little Marauder.” Harry gently cradled him in his arms and moved to sit on the couch. “Everything going okay?”

“Everything is fine Harry. Though I did get a call from Bobby about some family tension.”

Harry sighed. “It’ll blow over. Someone will catch up to her soon.” He ran his fingers through baby soft hair. He looked over as an owl landed and accepted the letter, freezing as he spotted the family crest sealing the envelope. 

“Harry?”

“I uh…..I need to go.” He gently put Teddy down and left. He apparated to the beach where Castiel had found him before, sitting on the sand as he stared at the envelope. After what felt like hours he finally broke the seal and pulled the crisp parchment out. He unfolded it and began to read. When he was done he incinerated the letter and closed his eyes, clutching the small pendant that had been inside. It was his, a gift from Blaise on their one month anniversary and he had thought it lost. But Blaise had kept it. He’d sent information on what was happening in Britain, his good wishes and the news he was moving his family back to the ancestral home in Italy. It also included a sincere sounding apology for everything that had happened. But it was too little too late and Blaise seemed to know that. He fought the urge to cry, he refused to cry over him again. Of course that was when the alarms he’d placed on his cousins went off like crazy. 

`````````````````````````````  
Dean gasped as Alistair cut off his air supply. Castiel looked dazed and unable to help him. But then Alistair cried out in pain as a familiar sword emerged from his chest. The hand crushing Dean’s throat suddenly released him as the demon collapsed. A quick spell and Dean found it a lot easier to breathe so Harry moved on. 

“Shut your eyes!” Anna yelled and Harry tackled Sam, making sure neither of them looked as Anna’s Grace exploded from the bottle. Once the light faded he got up and offered Sam a hand up. All the demons were gone, leaving only Castiel and Uriel. Dean opened his mouth to say something taunting but the glare Harry shot him made him reconsider. Uriel sneered before vanishing but Castiel nodded at them before following him.

TBC…..


	26. ch26

Disclaimer: Not mine  
Bit of a depressing chapter

Chapter 26

Harry sat on the beach and just watched the waves crash against the sand. He felt…lost. Tensions were still high even three weeks after Anna had gotten her Grace back and he hated it. At least Alistair was dealt with and would never threaten his family again but his instincts screamed that Uriel was a definite threat and he didn’t know what to do. With the age gap between him and his cousins it was normal they drift apart, right? Because that was what it felt like was happening. His fingers brushed the pendant he once again wore even as he remembered happier times before he pushed the memories aside. They were the past; this was the present. They had to stop the Seals breaking and then… he would try to move on and give his cousins the space they obviously wanted. He had Teddy, he would help raise him to be a good man, a wizard and the next generation of Marauder. He sighed and stood, brushing the sand off before vanishing from the beach to return to Teddy and Andi.

``````````````````````````  
Bobby didn’t like what he saw as he watched the three boys. Harry was slowly being pushed to the side, more by Dean than by Sam but Sam would stand by his brother before anyone else. Considering how panicked they had been when Harry had left and then how relieved they were to find he was alive it just didn’t make sense to him. Had it been Harry’s reaction to Anna that had caused it? He hadn’t wanted anything to do with her while Dean had wanted to save her almost desperately. How could Dean let her come between his family? He hated seeing what was happening but he had no clue what to do to stop it. 

```````````````````````````````````  
Harry ducked and then sent the demon flying before impaling another on his sword, seeing Dean slam the knife into another even as Sam worked to get the captives free and away safely. He spotted Dean’s angel wading into the fight as well and soon it was over. Harry looked at the bodies and felt a flash of grief and self-disgust. He didn’t like killing, never had and yet he had just killed several innocent people to kill the demons using their bodies. There had to be a better way. He moved between the bodies, gently closing empty eyes and rearranging limbs, wanting to give them some dignity in death. Dean had already left with Castiel but Sam hesitated, watching Harry work and felt a flash of guilt. He should never have been dragged into this. Harry looked up and Sam met dull green eyes. He tried to say something but couldn’t find any comforting words so eventually left the building. Harry just went back to work before leaving as well. 

`````````````````````````  
“What are those boys doing to him?”

Bobby looked at Andromeda and sighed. “You’ve noticed too then.”

“He’s dying Bobby, not physically but the only time he smiles anymore is with Teddy. Not even the war damaged him so much.”

“I honestly don’t know what’s going on but it seems to have started with Anna. I barely see the kid anymore and Dean…. he’s starting to scare me he’s so focused. Sam’s just caught in the middle and doesn’t know what to do.”

“But in the end he will stand with his brother, leaving Harry out in the cold again.” She whispered. She wanted to hate them for daring to hurt Harry, he was family, but she knew Harry wouldn’t want that. Why couldn’t Harry ever have peace and happiness? She had thought in the weeks after the war that he had finally found that with the Zambini boy only to watch that end very badly. But then she had seen him with his cousins and had dared to hope again only to find once again she was watching everything fall apart around him. 

`````````````````````  
Sam watched Harry aimlessly wander Bobby’s yard. He didn’t know what to do, he could feel the growing distance but didn’t know how to breech it. It had started so slowly he hadn’t even noticed until it was too late. Harry fought beside them, protected them but…he wanted his little cousin back. He wanted the Harry who laughed and pranked him like he had when he had come back from the war and saved him. He wanted the brother back he had before Dean went to hell. But he had learnt his lesson, he never got what he wanted. He didn’t understand why Dean was letting this happen, Dean who had been so protective of Harry and now barely said a word to him. So Sam took a deep breath and walked out into the yard, falling into step with his cousin, letting his arm brush against his and Harry faltered briefly before altering his gait to accommodate Sam’s longer legs. 

```````````````````````  
Harry grabbed Castiel’s dropped blade, feeling it’s power, before slamming it into Uriel’s chest. He let go of the blade and watched the angel stagger away from the beaten Castiel before turning away as the body erupted in a column of light. He turned back once it was done to see Uriel dead on the floor with ash spread around him, outlining where his wings had been.

Castiel looked up in shock at the Master of Death. He had thought he was going to die at the hands of one of his own comrades until the wizard had intervened. He felt saddened by Uriel’s death but the other angel had caused how many deaths? He slowly got up and picked up his sword. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Was the soft answer and Castiel really looked at him for the first time in a while. What he saw worried him, green eyes were dull and had bruises under them and he appeared to have lost weight as well.

“Are you well?”

“Fine. You better let Dean know you’re okay.” And then Harry vanished. Castiel frowned, something was wrong but what?

````````````````````  
Harry reappeared on ‘his’ beach and sat with his knees drawn up to his chest. Saving Castiel had been the right thing to do even if killing an angel was probably not a good thing. He could still feel his fingers tingling from touching the powerful blade of an angel but at least it didn’t hurt. It was surprising that the angel had finally noticed things had changed but he had no desire to talk it out with him. Was Castiel even a him? Did angels have genders? He shook his head, letting his thoughts wander never ended well. Sam at least was making an effort but it wasn’t enough, not anymore.

TBC…


	27. ch27

_Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me_

_Sorry for the very long wait._

**Chapter 27**

“Cas?”

 

“Something is wrong with your cousin.” The angel sat beside Dean who was staring up at the stars.

 

“He hurt?”

 

“No. he saved my life.” Castiel stated and that got Dean’s attention.

 

“What?”

 

“Uriel…he was killing other Angels. I confronted him and we fought, he was winning when Harry appeared and used my sword to kill Uriel. But he is…. different to how he was before, dulled. He appears to have not slept in a long time and has lost weight.” He explained but he didn’t know how to fully explain what he had seen.

 

“He’s dying.” A female voice called and they turned to see Andromeda walking towards them. “Not physically, not yet but eventually his health will fail. I saw this begin during the war but I thought he was safe once we came here and he had you. He was back to being the old Harry but now…if it wouldn’t hurt him more I’d kill you myself for doing this to him.”

 

“What the hell are you talking about.” Dean snarled.

 

“Harry needs to be needed, I blame his ‘relatives’ for that. You let him in, treated him like real family and he thrived but then you slammed that door in his face and now he’s paying the price for that. Congratulations on doing what a Dark Lord and his army couldn’t.” She spat at Dean who recoiled slightly even as Castiel watched them. “Sam is too scared of losing you to really stand by him either. When was the last time you even spoke to him?”

 

Dean stared at her, angry she was poking her nose into his business…. but it was hers too, wasn’t it? She was related to Harry, even if distantly. But he had to push harry away, he had to make him leave. He wasn’t safe with them. Who knew what Lucifer or Michael would do with access to Harry?

 

“Dean.” Castiel called and he looked at the angel.

 

“She is right, he is fading away.” He did not know if the Master of Death could die from such a thing but he did not want to find out, he liked the wizard. Instead of answering them Dean walked off and Andromeda shook her head.

 

“I’ve half a mind to hex that idiot.” She muttered before nodding to Castiel and apparating home.

 

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Dean watched from the kitchen as Harry helped Bobby with research, scanning the younger man for any sign of the damage Andy and Cas had mentioned and when he forced himself to really look he could see it. Harry had always been slender but now he was skinny. His hair fell lank and there were bags under his eyes. All up he looked terrible. But there was no way it was because of him. The kid was probably skipping meals with how busy they’d been. Bit of extra food and some sleep and he’d be fine.

 

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sam sighed as he saw Dean turn away, he had hoped from the way Dean was staring at Harry that he would finally approach him but instead he left as was usual lately. He didn’t know what to do, how to fix this. He could see how Harry was deteriorating and it hurt. He’d tried to talk to Dean but had been brushed off much to his annoyance. He was losing his patience with Dean, he never wanted to talk about feelings but this was a hundred times worse than normal.

 

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Harry ducked under a flailing arm before yanking its owner close and bringing his knee up into the face of the…he wasn’t sure what they were fighting this time. He drew his sword and took its head off, ending his fight. He looked over and saw Castiel easily dealing with three of the creatures and Sam taking down another. He looked for Dean and saw him backed into a corner with a clawed hand rushing towards his unprotected chest and he didn’t think, he just vanished.

 

Dean flinched but then blinked in shock at the lack of pain. Instead Harry stood in front of him, sword through the creatures chest. It collapsed but so did Harry. “No.” Dean choked, dropping to his knees to find Harry had been impaled on a clawed arm. “CAS!” he screamed, searching wildly for a pulse.

 

The angel was soon beside him, face drawn in concern as he knelt, hand skimming over Harry’s chest. “He’s gone Dean.”

 

“No.” Dean shook his head in denial, reaching to pull the smaller male into his arms even as Castiel removed the arm from his chest. His eyes were closed and he looked peaceful, like he was simply sleeping. Sam was suddenly with them, reaching for Harry’s hand before looking to Cas.

 

“Can’t you bring him back?”

 

Castiel shook his head, he had brought Dean back from Hell and yet he could not heal Harry. “I tried.”

 

“He’s healed from bad wounds before.” Sam whispered weakly.

 

“I am sorry.” Castiel whispered and then blinked in shock as Sam snarled at Dean and pushed him away.

 

“This is your fault! He’s been dying inside because of you and now he’s dead saving you!” Sam yelled and Dean just stared in shock as his brother yelled and then punched him. He should have done more for Harry and now it was too late and all he had was his anger.

 

Castiel pulled Harry’s body away from them and gently laid him out, repairing his jacket to hide the wound. He really did look like he was simply sleeping but Castiel knew better. This fight had been building for a while with Dean’s attitude and it was better they get it out of the way now then let it build further. So he stayed with the body and waited, he would step in if it looked like someone was going to be permanently damaged or killed.

 

None of them saw as Harry’s body convulsed.

 

Harry blinked up at a familiar ceiling and sighed, pushing himself up to sit and look around at the train station. Kings Cross hadn’t changed a bit since his last visit. It was still bright white and empty with the distant sound of trains so he stood and moved to sit on the bench, waiting to see what happened. He tilted his head back and settled in to wait, thankful time flowed differently here.

 

“Hey Pup, having fun?”

 

Harry swallowed as he heard the familiar, loved and missed, voice before opening his eyes and staring at Sirius. This wasn’t the Sirius he had known so briefly, this was a healthy young man in his prime and Harry threw himself at him. “Sirius.” He whispered even as his Godfather’s arms wrapped around him.

 

“I’m here kiddo.” Sirius hugged Harry tight, glad he’d managed to get this visit. “We’re all so proud of you. Remus and Nymphadora are thrilled over what you did for Teddy. Only one person can come and I managed to beat them all to the tunnel.” He pulled back and grinned making Harry smile slightly.

 

“I suppose you’re better than Dumbledore.” He mock sighed in disappointment and Sirius laughed before sitting on the bench and Harry joined him. “Was kind of hoping to never see this place again.” He admitted.

 

“Then don’t jump in front of claws.” Sirius offered. “Then again you’ll be fine, your cousin would have been joining us permanently.”

 

“So what, if I die I come here and then….”

 

“Death can’t claim you unless you want to die kiddo. So you come here, heal up and go back. And we all take turns saying ‘hi’. Just don’t use that as a reason to die often.”

 

“Why should I even go back Padfoot? What have I really got to go back to but another war?” Harry asked and Sirius pulled him in against his side.

 

“Teddy and Andy for starters. Bobby and your cousins. Even that Angel likes you.” He offered and Harry snorted.

 

“My cousins? They don’t care.”

 

“They love you, kiddo. But they aren’t protected like you are.” He gently tapped Harry’s temple and green eyes went wide.

 

“Who?” he growled and Sirius shrugged.   


“Can’t say, sorry but there are rules on this side. But now you know….”

 

“Don’t suppose you can tell me if I can kill an Angel?”

 

“Sorry.” Sirius looked around and then sighed. “Time’s up Pup.”

 

“I love you.” Harry whispered, clinging on and Sirius hugged him tightly.

 

“I love you too Pup.”

 

Green eyes snapped open as Harry sucked in a deep breath before sitting up and looking around to see his cousins fighting and Cas watching them, looking lost. “What the hell are you two doing?” he snarled and they all froze before looking over to see him getting to his feet.

 

“Christo.” Dean snapped and Harry glared.

 

“Master of Death.” He growled and then stormed over to Dean and knocked him out.

 

“Harry?” Sam asked before he was out too.

 

“So which of your superiors likes playing with people’s head?” He glanced at Castiel who’s eyes went wide, that actually explained a lot.

 

_TBC….._


End file.
